If language means nothing in the conduct of human affairs, we might as well all confine ourselves to drawing pictures.

Words mean things. Generally, in political and legal circles, the meaning of English words is extremely specific, so as to enable people to say exactly what they mean, rather than developing the German habit of mutiple-compound foot-long words to describe a new object or concept.

The Senate is a political entity. One can assume they have a grasp on the meanings of the words they use. If the rest of us don't have that grasp, dictionaries are to be had very inexpensively. I bet the White House has several. To say that the President didn't know what the words meant is to say he is reluctant to open a dictionary. Is that what you meant?