ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Former President Donald Trump is meeting with Congressional Republicans today in Washington. It's Trump's first time visiting Capitol Hill since he left office in 2021 - also the first time since his supporters invaded the Capitol on January 6, and it comes two weeks after he was convicted of 34 felony charges in New York. NPR congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt is here to talk about this visit. Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Good morning.
SCHMITZ: So Trump starts his day with House Republicans. What are they going to talk about?
SPRUNT: Lawmakers told me they expect to talk about how to unify as a party in the final months of the campaign, about a cohesive message and what a Republican agenda would look like if Trump retakes the White House. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the meeting today, which is happening near the Capitol at a Republican members' club, is a chance for Trump and Congressional Republicans to talk about the path forward.
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MIKE JOHNSON: There's high anticipation here and great excitement. We feel that. As I've mentioned, I've been all across the country, criss-crossing the country in all the districts of all these campaigns, and there's a real energy in the base right now, and a real energy among the American people. They know that change is coming. It can't get here soon enough. November cannot get here soon enough, but we're anxious to talk about that and, I guess, bounce around ideas with the President.
SPRUNT: Now, bouncing around ideas - not necessarily something Trump is known for, and a big room like this isn't really where policy gets written and decided, but I think most people expect Trump to give a rallying speech to this group.
SCHMITZ: House Speaker Mike Johnson's saying there's going to be a lot of excitement. Trump also has plans to meet with Republican senators. Is that likely to be any different?
SPRUNT: A notable difference, I think, is the group itself. Most of the House GOP conference is firmly behind Trump, and while there's still majority support for Trump in the Senate, there are a few notable exceptions. Indiana's Todd Young has already said he won't be supporting Trump, and there are senators like Mitt Romney and Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins, who previously voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial. That group is split on attending. Another interesting dynamic - this will be Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell's first in-person meeting with Trump since 2020. They've had a frosty relationship over the years, particularly more tense after McConnell said Joe Biden was the winner of the 2020 election. Content-wise, a Trump campaign official told NPR the meeting will involve discussions on - get ready - social security, Medicare, immigration, the U.S-Mexico border, taxes and foreign policy. That's quite the list to get through in one meeting.
SCHMITZ: It's a very big list. What are Republicans hoping to gain from these meetings? Is this sort of a policy visit, as Trump's campaign is saying, or is this a pep rally?
SPRUNT: I think the appetite is for it to be a bit of both. Lawmakers say they want to have the chance to ask Trump how they can be helpful to him these last months of the campaign, and something to watch for is whether they get into areas where there's some disagreement. Trump talks a lot about the last election being rigged. It's something some Congressional Republicans would like to move away from, and there's issues like Ukraine. Trump is opposed, but there remains blocks of lawmakers who do want to support Ukraine.
SCHMITZ: That's NPR congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt.
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