An Oval Office meeting involving President Trump and his top advisers on Wednesday devolved into a heated exchange between his former campaign manager and the White House political director, people briefed on the discussion said.
The meeting over the midterm elections came as Republicans face a daunting landscape next year, particularly after a bruising loss in the Alabama Senate special election this month.
And it prompted the political director, Bill Stepien, to call an official at the main political group supporting Mr. Trump, America First Policies, to say its counsel should be involved at future meetings.
The meeting underlined the turf battles and strategic disagreements that have long been characteristic of Mr. Trump's circle, dating to his presidential campaign.
A White House spokeswoman declined to comment. An America First Policies official did not respond to a message seeking comment.
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The initial meeting featured Mr. Trump; Mr. Stepien; John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff; Kellyanne Conway, the White House counselor; and Hope Hicks, the communications director. Also in attendance were Corey Lewandowski, Mr. Trump's former campaign manager, and Brad Parscale, both of whom are advisers to America First Policies.
Mr. Lewandowski aggressively criticized the Republican National Committee, as well as several White House departments, five people briefed on the discussion said.
One attendee, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the discussion was intended to be private, said Mr. Lewandowski took pointed aim at the political operation led by Mr. Stepien. Another attendee insisted that Mr. Lewandowski lashed out at nearly every department but the political shop.
Mr. Lewandowski called the White House team too insular, and he said it had done little to tend to fellow Republicans or to conduct outreach with outside groups and supporters. Asked for an example, Mr. Lewandowski said he knew of a senator who had not been invited to the White House Hanukkah party, one attendee said.
Mr. Trump, who often pits advisers against one another, appeared to be receptive to the argument. "A lot of people" have been telling the president that his White House team needs improvement, a person briefed on the meeting said.
After the meeting, Mr. Lewandowski and Mr. Stepien got into an argument outside the Oval Office, continuing the exchange elsewhere on the White House grounds. They eventually reached a cordial place, three people briefed on the exchange said.
But on Thursday morning, Mr. Stepien called a leading official at America First Policies, Bryan O. Walsh, and said its counsel needed to be present for future meetings, according to a person briefed on the events.
Mr. Stepien appears to be the latest front in a rotating cast of advisers surrounding Mr. Trump over the last three years. A string of election defeats, coupled with legislative inertia through much of the year, has made him the target of criticism, primarily from outside the White House.
But Mr. Stepien has his defenders in the White House, among them Mr. Kelly, who two attendees at the Oval Office meeting said was put off by Mr. Lewandowski's criticism.
Mr. Lewandowski declined to comment.
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