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WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will meet privately with Donald Trump on Thursday, as the former president who is now the party's presumptive nominee returns to Capitol Hill for the first time since his supporters attacked the building on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn President Joe Biden's election.
Trump was already scheduled to meet with Senate Republicans behind closed doors, and he will now hold a separate session with colleagues in the House. House GOP Conference Chairwoman Rep. Elise Stefanik advised lawmakers early Tuesday of the upcoming meeting with Trump.
It's a pivotal moment for the indicted former president, weeks before he is to be sentenced after being found guilty in the hush money trial and ahead of the Republican National Convention when he is expected to become the formal GOP nominee for president.
The Trump campaign did not confirm the meeting with House Republicans, but the senior campaign official said the Senate meeting will be focused on policy issues — including tax cuts.
Trump's return to the GOP campaign offices across from the Capitol, his first since the mob of supporters rioted at the Capitol in 2021, comes as he faces other legal charges, including the four-part federal indictment brought by Justice Department Special Prosecutor Jack Smith in the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results.
Most Republicans have endorsed Trump in the expected rematch against Biden, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other leaders who were critical of him in the aftermath of the 2021 attack.
Many of the Republicans in Congress have joined Trump in attacking the U.S. justice system for the cases against him. House Speaker Mike Johnson led lawmakers in rallying to Trump's defense outside the New York courthouse last month in the hush money trial.
The verdict made Trump the first former American president found guilty of felony crimes when a New York jury convicted him on all charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election with a hush money payment to a porn actor.