By SEUNG MIN KIM, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will gather with House Republicans on Tuesday to ensure they’re aligned on their agenda at the start of a critical midterm election year that could alter the course of his final two years in office.
GOP lawmakers are hosting a daylong policy forum at the Kennedy Center, the performing arts venue on the other side of Washington from the Capitol. Its board, which is stacked with Trump loyalists, recently voted to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center, though that move is being challenged in court.
House Republicans are convening as they launch their new year agenda, with health care issues in particular dogging the GOP heading into the midterm elections. Votes on extending expired health insurance subsidies are expected as soon as this week, and it’s unclear whether the president and the party will try to block its passage.
Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are trying to corral Republican lawmakers when GOP leaders have a thin majority in the chamber. Meanwhile, rank-and-file lawmakers have felt increasingly emboldened enough to buck Trump and the leadership’s wishes, such as on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
With Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation taking effect at midnight Tuesday, Republican leaders now have a 219-213 majority in the House.
The meeting also comes after the Trump administration’s dramatic capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, which occurred after a monthslong U.S. campaign to pressure the now-deposed leader by building up American forces in the waters off South America and bombing boats alleged to have been carrying drugs.
The Maduro capture is reigniting the debate about Trump’s powers over Congress to authorize the campaign against Venezuela, though House Republican lawmakers have largely been supportive of the administration’s efforts there.
Among the topics likely to be discussed on Tuesday are promoting and implementing the GOP’s marquee tax-and-border legislation, as well as a broader affordability agenda and midterm politics, according to a Republican official who was involved in the planning of the meeting and insisted on anonymity to discuss it.
Republicans are also mulling a potential second tax bill that could be passed with just party line votes while confronting the possibility of a potential partial government shutdown at the end of the month.
It is unclear why House Republicans chose the Kennedy Center venue for their off-campus session. House GOP meetings are generally held in the Capitol or a nearby site off campus if they are discussing political matters. The speaker’s office did not respond to a request for further comment.
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.