GOP Senate aides accuse one another of 'betrayal' during tension-filled meeting: report

Republican Senate aides clashed during a Monday morning meeting over the bipartisan border bill.

Communications directors for GOP senators met to discuss the deal, and staffers for Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a strong opponent of the bill, started "yelling" at staffers for Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who is leading the talks, after they gave a presentation on the proposal, reported Andrew Desiderio of Punchbowl News.

The Lee aide eventually left the room complaining about a "betrayal," and Desiderio reported that staffers who remained in the room "erupted into laughter" when that staffer left.

Lee has publicly mocked Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for working closely with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to craft the bill, and the Utah Republican has urged the rest of the GOP conference to block the deal.