WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will meet with Senate Republicans on Thursday, speaking to the group just two weeks after he was convicted of 34 charges in his secret trial and as Republican senators increasingly coalesced around him.
The invitation was issued by Wyoming Sen. João Barrasso, the Republican Party conference chairman, and Trump accepted, according to two people familiar with the planning who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting. The meeting will be held in a location away from the Capitol, as is common practice at campaign-related events.
The meeting will be the first time Trump has met at the Republican Party conference since he was president, and the first time since his supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The meeting was first reported by NBC News.
Many senators who criticized Trump after the attack have now supported his presidential bid, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and other members of Senate leadership.
The Republican Party Senate conference was also uniformly favorable of Trump after the May 31 silence verdict, with many of them joining Trump’s criticism of judge and jury. The verdict made Trump the first former US president found guilty of serious crimes when a New York jury convicted him on all charges in a scheme to influence the 2016 election with a secret payment to a porn star.
Instead of distancing themselves from Trump, Republicans have rallied around him in hopes that voters will believe the New York court jury’s verdict was a form of political retribution. Some senators attended the trial to show their support for Trump.
Trump is expected to appeal last month’s conviction on all 34 counts.
