“Sen. Dean Heller was sitting two seats away from President Trump and facing his grim-faced colleagues this week when he decided to crack a pointed joke.
“Heller — a square-jawed, sandy-haired moderate Republican — said the attack ads against him, paid for by a Trump-allied super PAC, should have used his own image instead of actor Matt Damon’s.
“There were scattered laughs, including a chuckle from Trump. But many of the Republican lawmakers lining tables in the East Room stayed mute.
“The senator from Nevada then reiterated that he had deep reservations about the party’s major rewrite of the nation’s health-care laws, despite the Trump network’s efforts to pressure him to back the legislation.
“Trump nodded and said he understood Heller’s view. A couple of hours later, the super PAC pulled the ads off the air.”
By Robert Costa, Sean Sullivan, Juliet Eilperin and Kelsey Snell
