Former President Trump is heading to Capitol Hill to set a unified tone ahead of November with congressional Republicans — including several senators with whom he doesn’t always agree.
At the top of the list is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), with whom Trump has sparred repeatedly since leaving office. The two are expected to be in the same room together for the first time since 2020 and its infamous fallout, which was semi-repaired in recent months when the Republican Party leader officially endorsed Trump’s campaign.
Now, it’s all about unity, and that starts at the top with these two.
“I imagine it will be a big bear hug,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) joked about them. “They are both adults. I imagine they will be cordial and listen carefully… They were both leaders.”
“It’s a great opportunity for all of us to come together,” he said.
The visit will be one of three stops of the day for the former president, who is also expected to address House Republicans and the business roundtable. This comes at a crucial time in the cycle, as he maintains a slim lead over President Biden in swing states, and Senate Republicans are increasingly optimistic that they will win back the chamber after four years in the minority.
For Republicans, the hope is that Thursday will help them stay on the same page as they head to the Republican National Convention next month and as Trump deals with the fallout from his felony conviction in New York two weeks ago.
“Division only helps our opposition,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a key McConnell ally who is running to succeed him at the top of the conference. “So unity is really important and I think President Trump understands that.”
Part of McConnell’s calculation to support Trump was to give all of his members a boost in their Senate bids, including in two red states where the former president is popular, and to help field the party’s preferred candidates in the primaries.
This was evident over the weekend when Trump endorsed Sam Brown in Nevada after much persuasion from party leaders. Brown easily won his primary on Tuesday with 60% of the vote.
Trump and McConnell are also interested in getting on the same page before November, one source noted. If Trump performs well at the top of the ticket, this could reinforce the lesser-voted candidates who hold the key to the majority in the Senate.
That would allow Trump to move forward with a range of policy priorities, while McConnell would finish his term as Republican leader after having helped usher in a new Republican majority.
“They’re all going to have to be on the same page, and it’s going to be Trump who tells them exactly how to do that,” said a Republican strategist who is a friend of the Trump campaign.
McConnell declined Wednesday to say what he plans to say to Trump on Thursday, including about their disagreement. He added only that he has said multiple times since January 6, 2021 that he would support the Republican Party nominee and that he supports Trump.
“And, of course, I will be at the meeting tomorrow,” McConnell said.
A senior Trump campaign official told The Hill that the meeting will focus on setting a policy agenda that could be quickly enacted if Republicans gain control of Congress and the White House in November.
This includes efforts to extend the 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire in 2025, as well as immigration and border policy.
This would mark the second political conversation Senate Republicans have had in as many days after President Mike Johnson (R-La.) met with them over lunch to discuss possible budget reconciliation options if the GOP reaches the trifecta in November .
“I hope we get into politics a little bit, actually. You talk about unifying factors – politics is where we’re pretty united,” Cramer said. “I think it would also be good policy.”
But officials close to Trump’s campaign acknowledged that the meeting, and Trump’s trip to D.C. in general, serves a broader purpose of asserting the former president’s control over the party and demonstrating a show of strength with the first debate. against President Biden on the horizon.
“It’s a direct and obvious sign that Donald Trump and no one else is the head of the Republican Party,” said a Trump ally.
But one thing that is certain is that all members of the Senate GOP conference will not greet Trump with open arms when they meet at the Senate Republican National Committee, including some who are hostile to the former president.
At least three Senate Republicans — Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitt Romney (Utah) — have said they will not attend and said they have conflicts.
Two Senate Republicans, Todd Young (Ind.) and Bill Cassidy (La.), are also on the air. Young refused to answer all Trump-related questions this week, while Cassidy saidthat he was trying to adjust his schedule accordingly.
Murkowski, Collins, Romney and Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial for trying to overturn the election. Romney also voted to convict Trump in his first Ukraine-related impeachment trial.
But for participants who have been to these types of meetings with the former president, the only thing they know to expect is the unknown.
“You have no idea what Trump is going to say,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “It’s totally unpredictable.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
