"We have to get a lot of votes, we can't be cutting – we need to get a lot of support," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Thousands of people were indiscriminately laid off or pushed out — hundreds of whom had to be rehired — and some federal agencies were eviscerated.

Trump defended his agenda by talking about the delicate politics involved with negotiating the legislation: “I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it.”