Dec 11, 2019

Trump officials leave peace meeting with their jobs

HHS Sec. Alex Azar, President Trump and CMS Administrator Seema Verma. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma both still have their jobs after Wednesday night's White House meeting, per three sources familiar with the matter.

Details: The peace meeting between the two feuding officials was held in Vice President Mike Pence's office. Pence, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Azar, Verma and Pence's chief of staff Marc Short attended, two sources familiar told Axios' Jonathan Swan.

One of the sources said the message conveyed to Azar and Verma was that the president likes both of them, but they need to cut out the fighting and work together. "The ball’s in their court," the source added. "There are no more conversations to be had."

Driving the news: There's been a constant stream of news reports about the two's toxic relationship over the past week.

The bottom line: The pair's scorched-earth tactics have made it hard to imagine them having a productive working future, but both have strong allies — and enemies — inside the administration, making it equally difficult to predict whether either will be forced out.

Go deeper: Top Trump officials' feud prompts sex discrimination probe

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Trump officials leave peace meeting with their jobs

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