Donald Trump back in Washington for meetings with vice presidential contenders, congressional allies and former foes

Former President Donald Trump is back in Washington for the first time since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, holding a pair of significant, closed-door meetings with key congressional allies, vice presidential hopefuls and even a few former outspoken opponents – all of whom are expected to line up behind him this fall.

Former President Donald Trump is back in Washington for the first time since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee as well as a convicted felon, holding a pair of significant, closed-door meetings with key congressional allies, vice presidential hopefuls and even a few former outspoken opponents – all of whom are expected to line up behind him this fall. A bitter primary and general election cycle muddied by Trump’s ongoing legal troubles have given Republicans little opportunity to sync up over the policies and proposals that generally drive an election year. “He’ll come and lead the team,” GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a fierce Trump ally, told CNN. “I think it’s gonna be a pep rally environment for the former and future president.” Ahead of the meeting, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn noted it would be “nice” to “get everybody singing from the same sheet of music.” Cornyn has previously criticized Trump and said he preferred to see the GOP move in a different direction, before ultimately endorsing the former president in January. Senior campaign advisers said Trump was expected to express his campaign priorities and policies — focusing on the economy, inflation, tax cuts and immigration during his meetings, first with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill club in the morning and then with Senate Republicans at the nearby National Republican Senatorial Committee building. He’ll also reiterate his commitment to not cutting entitlement programs for seniors like Social Security and Medicare. “We want to get everyone on the same page talking about policy, including the economy and inflation,” one senior Trump adviser told CNN. “That’s the biggest factor in all the polling, it’s the biggest thing people are worried about.”