Republicans promote “unity” during Trump’s first visit to the Capitol since the January 6 attack

WASHINGTON – Three and a half years ago, President Donald Trump incited a violent insurrection at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory and stay in power, a special committee of the House of Representatives concluded after a lengthy investigation.

On Thursday, Trump will visit the Capitol for the first time since the January 6 attack, as Republicans give their party’s likely nominee for the 2024 presidential election a hero’s welcome.

Less than five months before his rematch with Biden, Trump is scheduled to meet behind closed doors with House Republicans in the morning and GOP senators in the afternoon just blocks from the Capitol to discuss the party’s campaign messages and legislative strategy for 2025.

There is fierce competition between Trump and Biden, and the majority in Congress is at stake in the fall. However, many Republicans in the Republican Party are optimistic that they will win the 2024 elections by a clear margin and can quickly implement Trump’s agenda.

“It will be an expression of unity,” Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a former Republican campaign manager, told NBC News.

Even some critics within the party are planning to attend: Senator Bill Cassidy (Republican of Louisiana), who voted to convict Trump in the impeachment trial following the January 6 attacks, said he expects to attend but is still in the process of setting his schedule.

“The polls say he’s going to be our next president, so you have to work with the guy,” Cassidy said, joking that he didn’t know what to expect. “Can you predict what Trump will do in the next minute? No, of course not.”

It will also be the first time since the Capitol riots that Trump will be in the same room with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; the two have not spoken since December 2020, when McConnell accused Trump of being “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events” of January 6. He has since endorsed Trump as a presidential candidate – and announced that he will step down as Republican Senate leader after this year.

“I said three years ago, right after the attack on the Capitol, that I would support our nominee, no matter who it is – including him. I said earlier this year that I support him. He has earned the nomination of voters across the country,” McConnell told reporters on Tuesday, without mentioning Trump’s name. “And of course I will be at the meeting tomorrow.”

Trump returns to Washington after being convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to a porn star and awaiting sentencing. In between meetings with Republicans in the House and Senate, Trump will sit with CEOs at a meeting with the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group that says it represents more than 200 major companies. Washington and major industries are bracing for the possibility of Trump becoming president again.

Several top contenders for Trump’s vice presidential nomination will also have a chance to grab his attention on Thursday. They include Republican Senators JD Vance of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close Trump ally who played a key role in Republican efforts to block the certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory, predicted that Trump would win a second term and be “the greatest president of modern times” if he succeeds in repairing the “disaster” created by the Biden administration.

“When he comes, we must have a very ambitious agenda for the first 100 days; the first year will be important. I think we cannot waste a moment because there is so much to do,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. “You cannot put the cart before the horse, but you must be ready to take the lead.”

Other Trump critics in the party are expected to stay away from the Senate session, including Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah. All three voted to convict Trump after he was impeached in connection with the Jan. 6 attack.

Romney, who is retiring from the Senate this year, said he had to catch a flight at the time of the meeting with Trump.

“I’m not giving him advice on what to say, and I’m sure he wouldn’t listen to my advice anyway,” Romney told reporters.

Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he did not place much importance on McConnell’s attendance at the meeting with Trump.

“I don’t think it’s anything more than Mitch paying respect to our presidential candidate,” Tillis said. “And standing up for the rest of us at the conference.”

Trump is not expected to enter the Capitol complex itself, which his supporters overran in 2021, during his visit. He will meet with House Republicans in the morning at the Capitol Hill Club, a private Republican club steps from the Capitol office buildings. In the afternoon, he will meet with Republican senators at the headquarters of the National Republican Senatorial Committee after addressing the Business Roundtable.

Senator Todd Young (R-Indiana), who does not support Trump as a presidential candidate, declined to comment on his participation.

“No Trump questions,” Young said, adding that this was a personal rule “until I decide it’s no longer a rule.”