Trump, McConnell set for tricky GOP unity moment

Former President Trump is headed to Capitol Hill to strike a unified tone ahead of November with congressional Republicans — including a number of senators he doesn’t always see eye to eye with.

At the top of the list is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whom Trump has repeatedly feuded with since leaving office. The two are set to be in the same room together for the first time since 2020 and their infamous fallout, which has been semirepaired in recent months as the GOP leader officially endorsed Trump’s campaign.

Now, it’s all about unity, and that starts at the top with those two.

“I imagine it’ll be a big bear hug,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) quipped about the duo. “They’re both adults. I imagine they’ll be cordial and listen attentively. … They’ve both been leaders.”

“It’s a grand opportunity for us all to get together,” he said.

The visit will be one of three stops on the day for the ex-president, who is also set to address House Republicans and the Business Roundtable. It comes at a crucial time in the cycle as he holds a slim lead over President Biden in battleground states, and Senate Republicans have grown bullish that they will win back the upper chamber after four years in the minority. 

For Republicans, the hope is Thursday will help get them on the same page as they head toward next month’s Republican National Convention, 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 top McConnell ally who is running to succeed him atop the conference. “So unity is really important, and I think President Trump understands that.”

Part of McConnell’s calculus for supporting Trump was giving all of his members a boost for their Senate bids, including in a pair of red states where the former president is popular, and to help usher through the party’s preferred primary candidates.

That was on display over the weekend, as Trump backed Sam Brown in Nevada after much cajoling from party leaders. Brown easily won his primary Tuesday with 60 percent of the vote.

Trump and McConnell also have an interest in getting in tune ahead of November, one source noted: If Trump runs well at the top of the ticket, it could bolster down-ballot candidates who hold the keys to the Senate majority.

That would allow Trump to push through a slew of policy priorities, while McConnell would end his tenure as Republican leader having helped usher in a new GOP majority.

“They’re going to have to all be on the same page, and Trump is going to be the one to tell them exactly how to do it,” said one GOP strategist who is friendly with the Trump campaign.

McConnell on Wednesday declined to say what he plans to say to Trump the following day, including regarding their shared bad blood. He added only that he has said multiple times since Jan. 6, 2021, that he would support the GOP presidential nominee and that he backs Trump.

“And of course, I’ll be at the meeting tomorrow,” McConnell said. 

A senior Trump campaign official told The Hill the meeting will be focused on setting a policy agenda that could be quickly enacted if Republicans win control of Congress and the White House in November.

That 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 policy-related conversation Senate Republicans have had in as many days after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) met with them over lunch to discuss possible budget reconciliation options if the GOP hits the trifecta in November. 

“I hope we do get into a little bit of policy, actually. You talk about uniting factors — policy is where we’re pretty united,” Cramer said. “I think it would be good politics as well.”

But officials close to the Trump campaign acknowledged the meeting, and Trump’s trip to Washington in general, serves a broader purpose to assert the former president’s control over the party and demonstrate a show of force with the first debate against President Biden on the horizon.

“It’s a direct and obvious signal that Donald Trump and no one else is the head of the Republican Party,” one Trump ally said.

But one thing that is certain is that all of the Senate GOP conference will not greet Trump with open arms when they meet at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, including a number who are hostile toward the ex-president.

At least three Senate Republicans — Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitt Romney (Utah) — said they will not be in attendance and said they have conflicts. 

Two Senate Republicans, Todd Young (Ind.) and Bill Cassidy (La.), are also up in the air. Young has declined to answer all Trump-related questions this week, while Cassidy said that he was trying to finagle his schedule accordingly. 

Murkowski, Collins, Romney and Cassidy all voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial over trying to overturn the election. Romney also voted to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial related to Ukraine.

But for those attending who have been in these sorts of meetings with the ex-president, the one thing they know to expect is the unknown.

“You have no idea what Trump’s going to talk about,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. “It’s just totally unpredictable.”