WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will meet with Senate Republicans on Thursday, where he will speak to the group, just two weeks after he was convicted of 34 charges in his hush-money trial and as Republican senators increasingly have rallied around him.
The invitation was issued by Wyoming Sen. Johannes Barrasso, the chairman of the Republican conference, and Trump have accepted, according to two people familiar with the planning who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting. The rally will take place at a location outside the Capitol, as is customary for campaign-related events.
The meeting will be the first time Trump has met with the Republican conference since becoming president, and the first time since his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The meeting was first reported by NBC News.
Many senators who criticized Trump after the attack have now endorsed his run for president, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and other members of the Senate leadership.
The Senate Republican Conference also unanimously supported Trump after the May 31 hush-money verdict, with many of them joining Trump’s criticism of the judge and jury. The verdict made Trump the first former US president to be found guilty of misdemeanor crimes when a New York jury convicted him on all charges in a scheme to influence the 2016 election with a hush money payment to a porn actor.
Instead of distancing themselves from Trump, Republicans have rallied around him in the hope that voters will believe that the jury’s verdict in the New York court was a form of political retaliation. Some senators attended the trial to show their support for Trump.
Trump is expected to appeal last month’s conviction on all 34 charges.
