Trump to meet with Senate Republicans on Wednesday

President-elect Trump will be on Capitol Hill on Wednesday at the invitation of Senate Republican leadership, according to three sources familiar with the invitation.

GOP leaders haven’t released the time of the meeting, but Trump has met with Republican senators at their weekly Tuesday Republican policy lunch meeting in the past.

Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (Wyo.) told reporters Monday that GOP senators would meet with Trump soon to talk about his agenda.

“We’re likely going to meet with the president, relatively shortly, visit with him, talk about what he’d like to have done. We’re all heading in exactly the same direction,” Barrasso told the press gaggle, according to a reporter for Semafor.

The meeting is expected to be more of an opportunity for senators to get face time with Trump than a heavy discussion on strategy or policy details, the three sources told NewsNation.

One of the big questions that needs to be hashed out is whether to move Trump’s agenda in a single budget reconciliation package or break it up into two packages.

Using the budget reconciliation process would allow Republican leaders to circumvent a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has spoken in favor of first moving a budget reconciliation package that would beef up border security and expand fossil fuel production domestically.

He wants the second package to be devoted to extending the expiring Trump tax cuts and reducing spending.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Republican leaders, however, would prefer to tackle all of Trump’s major agenda items in a single package.

Senate GOP sources say that House Republican leaders want to avoid going through the arduous task of passing a budget reconciliation bill twice, given their very slim majority.

Topics

Republicans hold on to Virginia state Senate seat

Republican Luther Cifers defeated Democrat Jack Trammell in the special election for the state Senate's 10th District on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, maintaining Republicans’ grip on the ...
The Hill - 3h
Trump expected to meet with GOP senators on reconciliation Wednesday

Politico - 1d
Dem Rep. Bera ready to meet Republicans '50-yard-line,' and even '40-yard-line' since they're in majority

Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) said on Monday he is ready to meet Republicans “at the 50-yard-line” and even at “the 40-yard-line” due to them being “in the majority.” “So, the American public clearly ...
The Hill - 1d
Congress meets to certify Trump's 2024 election victory

Watch live coverage as Congress holds a joint session to certify the 2024 election results and President-elect Trump's victory. Four years ago, a mob stormed the Capitol in order to disrupt the ...
NBC News - 1d
Johnson tells House Republicans Trump wants 1 reconciliation package: Sources

Speaker Mike Johnson told House Republicans on Saturday that President-elect Donald Trump wants Congress to pass one sweeping bill full of his priorities.
ABC News - 3d
Meet the new senators being sworn in to Congress in 2025

The Senate is convening for the start of the 119th Congress on Friday, with a dozen new senators joining the upper chamber.
CBS News - 4d
New Republican Congress to begin laying the groundwork for Trump's return

Congress starts a new session Friday with Republicans taking the majority in the House and Senate, electing a speaker and preparing for a second Trump administration.
NBC News - 4d
Republican-run states see opportunity to push extreme policies under Trump

Emboldened red states could advocate for rightwing reforms from steep tax cuts to slashes to education. Republican state lawmakers and conservative leaders around the United States see Donald ...
The Guardian - 6d
Wednesday Briefing

Here’s what you need to know.
The New York Times - 6d