Three people involved in the arrangement told NBC News that President-elect Donald Trump has extended invitations to several groups of House Republicans to join him at Mar-a-Lago next weekend.
According to the sources, Trump’s staff collaborated with the leadership team of Speaker Mike Johnson to decide which members would be invited.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, lawmakers from states where the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap is in effect, chairs of important committees, and other Republican groups will pay Trump a visit at his Florida home between January 10 and January 12, just days before he is sworn in for a second term.
The excursions to Mar-a-Lago follow a tense vote on Friday in which Trump had to personally persuade at least two dissenting voters to back Johnson’s reelection. Additionally, it comes as Republicans get ready to consider a huge reconciliation package later this spring, which is expected to contain an extension of Trump’s tax bill from 2017.
According to two of the people, Trump wants to ensure that Republican members of all stripes are united and supportive of his ambitious legislative agenda.
Requests for comment regarding the visits scheduled for next weekend were not immediately answered by a representative of the Trump transition team.
Following Friday’s speaker vote, members of the Freedom Caucus released a letter stating that they voted for Johnson because of our unwavering support of President Trump, highlighting the divisions within the party.
We took this action in spite of our genuine concerns about the Speaker’s performance over the previous 15 months, they continued.
The GOP will probably have an easier time pushing its agenda after Trump takes office since, in addition to Trump’s triumph in November, Republican lawmakers kept control of the House and flipped control of the Senate.
Republicans, however, have a tenuous majority in the House and can hardly afford to lose a single vote in support of Trump’s chosen measure. It will compel Republicans in the House to agree on their program nearly unanimously.
Three Republican members, Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Keith Self of Texas, first voted against Johnson for speaker in the year’s first vote.
Minutes after casting their initial ballots, Self and Norman reversed their judgments, guaranteeing Johnson’s triumph.
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