Ahead of the Republican National Convention, House Republicans are preparing for presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump to win back the White House in November.
GOP lawmakers are set to meet with the former president on Thursday to discuss summer plans on the campaign trail as well as a 2025 agenda, preparing ahead of time in the case that Trump is reelected and Republicans maintain control of the House. Party leaders say they want to work in “close coordination” with a possible Trump administration in the future that will keep the party united on all fronts.
“I believe President Trump in his second term, which I believe he will have, to be the most consequential president of the modern era because we have to fix effectively every area of public policy,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “I think when he comes in, we’ve got to have a very aggressive ‘First 100 Days’ agenda. The first year will be important. I think we cannot waste a moment because there’s so many things to do. So in light of that, we’re having a discussion this week.”
Rank-and-file members say they were looking forward to speaking with the president, especially as the party has experienced bouts of division on issues such as government spending and foreign aid. However, lawmakers say Trump’s presence on the Hill, his first trip to Capitol Hill since the Jan. 6 attack, will be crucial to uniting the GOP as it looks to defend its slim majority in November.
Trump is scheduled to meet with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club in the morning ahead of a meeting with Republican senators at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters in the afternoon. The meetings with Trump come as lawmakers are looking to the former president to dictate their strategy.
“He should come in here and say, ‘I am the nominee,’ as he is. And if we want to get the White House back, we got to remain united. Let the American people know that we are in charge of the House of Representatives,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), a staunch supporter of the former president, said. “Some of the squabbling that we have, I think, has really kind of damaged our party up here. I think it’s all about unity, and I think Donald Trump can bring that unity.”
“I think Trump will lay out a vision for the country,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said. “I hope he tells us specifically how we can help.”
But Trump’s presence amid several competitive House primaries could also pull at some loose threads among lawmakers, especially as some members have gotten involved with their colleagues’ primaries, particularly Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-VA).
Good faces a tough primary challenge next week against challenger state Rep. John McGuire, whom Trump has endorsed. The former president has even gone so far as to say Good is “BAD FOR VIRGINIA AND BAD FOR THE USA.”
That discourse could make for an awkward and possibly tense meeting with Good and other House Republicans who have publicly backed his reelection.
When asked about the meeting, Good told the Washington Examiner he would not comment on Trump’s trip to the Capitol. Pressed about whether he would be in attendance, Good simply said, “I don’t have any comment about his visit.”
Good’s office later clarified to say he would be in attendance, with the Virginia Republican telling the Washington Examiner in a statement, “I will be in attendance to listen to what our presumptive nominee and the effective leader of our party has to say.”
Some Republicans rejected the idea that Trump’s comments could cause tension among Republicans as they look to unite ahead of the 2024 election, noting lawmakers cannot take primary challenges too seriously.
“It’s a big boy sport,” Nehls said.
“I don’t think President Trump even cares,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner.
Other lawmakers who endorsed candidates challenging Trump’s chosen contenders acknowledged the disparity but argued it would not cause problems in working with the former president.
“I trust Trump’s judgment. He can make whatever call he wants for who endorses,” Norman, who endorsed Adam Morgan in his challenge to Rep. William Timmons (R-SC) in South Carolina’s primary this week, said. Timmons defeated Morgan by 3 points.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“A lot of people he endorsed, though, in South Carolina are working against him,” Norman said. “And I think that hurts him. But he’s a free agent — we all are — and his track record is pretty good.”
The planned visit comes as Trump prepares to make the rounds with GOP lawmakers in Washington, D.C., this week, including a meeting with Republican senators on Thursday afternoon. The former president will then meet with Johnson again in Mar-a-Lago on Monday, along with National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC).