Former President Donald Trump is on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, in which he told his supporters to "fight like hell" while protesting President Joe Biden's electoral victory.
The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee arrived at the Capitol Hill Club Thursday morning, where he was greeted by GOP lawmakers for a closed-door meeting. Republicans also sang "Happy Birthday" to Trump — who turns 78 Friday — and gifted him a bat from Wednesday's annual Congressional Baseball Game, in which Republicans beat the Democrats 31-11.
Elections
EXCLUSIVE: Trump speaks with Scripps News Phoenix ahead of campaign town hall
Trump met separately with House and Senate Republicans to discuss party priorities and garner support for his 2024 presidential campaign. Afterward, he thanked the lawmakers for inviting him to D.C. and praised them for their loyalty.
"We agree just about on everything, and if there isn't, we work it out," Trump said. "I've had a really great relationship with just about everybody here, with everybody here, just about all of the senators. If it wasn't fantastic, it gets worked out. We have one thing in mind and that's making our country great."
The meetings come as Trump still faces federal charges out of Washington, D.C., over his alleged actions on the day of the Capitol insurrection — which some Republicans have blamed him for inciting. To this day, neither Trump nor his supporters have provided any credible evidence of widespread fraud at a scale that would change the results of the 2020 election, and multiple lawsuits — including those presided by Republican-appointed judges — have concluded the same.
Trump on Trial
Examining the status of Trump's 3 remaining criminal cases
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, is not in Washington this week as he finishes up an overseas trip that is concluding with the Group of Seven summit in southern Italy. President Biden opened the three-day conference Thursday with a proposal to use frozen Russian assets to help fund a $50 billion loan for the Ukraine war effort.
