Asked About Task Force Snub, Trump Says He’s Still Got A Grudge Against Mitt Romney

President Donald Trump on Sunday agreed that he still holds a grudge against Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah.) after he was asked about the senator’s exclusion from the congressional coronavirus task force for reopening the U.S. economy.

Romney, a longtime businessman and onetime Republican nominee for president, was the only GOP senator not invited to join the bipartisan committee of lawmakers tasked with opening back up the nation, the members of which were announced by the White House on Thursday. Earlier this year, he was the sole Republican to vote to convict Trump for abuse of power during the Senate impeachment trial.

“Yeah, it does,” Trump told a reporter during a White House press briefing Sunday when asked if Romney’s exclusion from the task force meant he continued to hold a grudge against the senator.

“I’m not a fan of Mitt Romney. I don’t really want his advice,” he added, when the journalist noted Romney’s experience as the former governor of Massachusetts.

Following Romney’s impeachment vote, he faced fierce backlash on the right and from his GOP colleagues. Trump, with whom he already had a contentious relationship, cast him as a fake Republican and a traitor.

Last week, the White House tapped House and Senate lawmakers to serve on the committee, termed the “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group.” The members of the task force include 52 Republicans and 12 Democrats in the Senate, as well as 22 GOP representatives and 10 Democrats from the House.

The group is one of several created by the Trump administration as it pushes ahead with its efforts to resuscitate the economy, even as governors, health experts and economists warn a premature opening could backfire from both health and economic perspectives.