WASHINGTON _ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he expects "everybody" to support his bill raising the legal age for cigarette, e-cigarette and vaping product purchases from 18 to 21 _ a major legislative priority for the Kentucky Republican.
But McConnell has yet to receive a guarantee of support from President Donald Trump, who promised to make his position on tobacco sales and vaping known by last week and has not yet delivered.
At a White House luncheon Thursday, Trump heard from select Republican senators about their desire to impose new restrictions on the sales of such products. While the president said earlier this month he would back raising the age for sales, he indicated to lawmakers at the meeting on Thursday he still hasn't made a final decision about what his policy will entail.
"(Trump) invited me and others to provide information to his team on that topic," Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, told reporters at the Capitol after the meal, which was not convened exclusively on this subject. "He thought things were interesting and he said 'send them along, we'll look at them.'"
Romney's report adds to the general confusion about where Trump stands on efforts to curb a growing public health crisis surrounding vaping and e-cigarette use among teenagers, specifically.
The risks of tobacco use have been known for decades, but the current debate over vaping comes as young people are gravitating toward exotic flavors and are becoming addicted to nicotine. There are also increasing instances of mysterious illnesses that have been linked to vaping, some of which have resulted in deaths.
Although Trump said in September that he would ban all flavored vaping products, he now appears to be backing away from those plans.
The White House and Capitol Hill has been consumed by the chaos of the impeachment proceedings. But Trump's team may also have been concerned by a survey of battleground states conducted by his campaign's polling company that found a ban on flavored vaping products could cost him support in 2020.
"Supporting a ban on flavors in all nicotine vapor products is a political liability. Nearly all (96%) vapor consumers are LESS likely to vote for a candidate who supports a flavor ban," the McLaughlin and Associates poll for the Vapor Technology Association said.
Trump also said earlier this month that his administration could raise the age for purchasing flavored vaping products to 21. But he hasn't spoken about age restrictions publicly since that time.
The White House did not clarify Trump's position to McClatchy on this element of the vaping debate on Thursday. Meanwhile, Romney said that while he brought up age restrictions to the president, "we didn't have much discussion about that."
But what Trump ends up supporting _ on age restrictions or on flavored products _ matters deeply to McConnell, who has made his bipartisan bill to bar cigarette product sales to teenagers a centerpiece of his legislative agenda this year.
On Tuesday, amid rumors of Trump reversing himself on the flavor ban, McConnell told reporters he was unaware of the status of that issue but boasted an age restriction is "something everyone can agree on" and that he would continue to push for its enactment.
Pressed Wednesday by McClatchy in a brief hallway interview as to whether he got the impression the Trump administration also agrees, McConnell replied, "we sure hope to."
Trump administration officials are also in the dark about which way the president is leaning on these issues, said Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, who has introduced legislation to ban flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products.
Those confused about the president's position include Stephen Hahn, Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, which has authority to regulate a ban on flavored vaping products.
Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, met with Hahn Thursday morning and reported that Hahn was still waiting for "a signal" from the White House.
"I'm in close touch with the administration, certain members that agree with me on the issue," Durbin said in an interview with McClatchy on Thursday afternoon. "I think the president is about to make a decision, maybe even this week."
Further clarity on where Trump stands could come on Friday, when, according to White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere, "a diverse group of advocacy, industry, non-profits, medical associations and state officials" visit the White House to discuss the matter with the president.
"President Trump will hear from outside stakeholders on the issue of youth usage of e-cigarettes and the government's role in regulation," Deere said in a statement. "As the President has said, there is a serious problem among our youth and their growing addition to e-cigarettes. The policy making process is not stalled _ it continues to move forward."
Deere continued, "This meeting will allow the President and other Administration officials an opportunity to hear from a larger group, representing all sides as we continue to develop responsible guidelines."
Trump, in a surprise Sept. 11 announcement, told reporters in the Oval Office that he planned to do "something very, very strong about" keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of children.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in the same meeting that the Food and Drug Administration would "finalize a guidance document that would commence enforcement to require that all flavors, other than tobacco flavor, would be removed from the market."
That was more than two months ago. Since then, the president has appeared to waiver.
On Nov. 8, as Trump was leaving the White House, he told the media "we're very close to a final report" and promised "we'll be giving it next week."
"We're going to be raising the age," he added.
Whatever new policies Trump chooses to endorse will determine what McConnell is able to do on Capitol Hill. Though the majority leader doesn't need the president's permission to pursue his legislative priorities, McConnell isn't likely to move on an effort that has no chance to become law.
Even if Trump does support a new age restriction as he has before, McConnell could run into trouble selling his bipartisan bill that is co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat.
"I'm going to caution (McConnell), Sen. Kaine ... and others to be careful, because the vaping industry now believes that if they can get a ban on sales of people under the age of 21, they can step away from the controversy. That is not the case," said Durbin.
"I know Sen. McConnell, having announced this legislative goal, wants to get it done," Durbin went on. "And I've said now, and talked to the advocacy groups, that unless we get some action on the issue of flavors, we're going to have to resist the bill."
Kaine said he was "outraged" by Trump's apparent "180" on flavors but disagreed with Durbin that this is an all-or-nothing fight.
"Something I don't like about this place is the unwillingness to do the good while we're waiting for the perfect, and here, while you wait for the perfect, you end up waiting for decades," Kaine said. "When everybody agrees that you gotta take it to 21 ... I'd say, do the 21 stuff."
McConnell could also face pressure from Republicans to do more to address the issue beyond just age restrictions if the Trump administration completely backs away from a flavored vaping ban.
"If the president proceeds down that road, yes, I think we need to pass the bill that Sen. Durbin and (Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa) Murkowski have introduced and I've co-sponsored," said Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican.
"We are looking for every vehicle we can for a ban on vaping flavors," Romney agreed.
