President-elect Donald Trump plans to drop by Capitol Hill on Wednesday to huddle with House Republicans before he goes to the White House for a meeting with President Biden.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the pit stop at the Capitol was Mr. Trump’s idea.
“We’re working out the details of him gathering with us potentially tomorrow morning before he goes to the White House, and that would be a great meeting and a moment for all of us,” Mr. Johnson said at the House GOP’s first press conference since the election that likely delivered Republicans complete control of power in Washington.
“There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of energy here. We’re really grateful for President Trump leaving it all on the field to get reelected,” said Mr. Johnson, Lousiana Republican.
The last time Mr. Trump met with Republicans in Washington was in June, when he had pep rally-style meetings with the House and Senate Republicans.
If Mr. Trump does meet with the House Republicans on Wednesday, it will come as the GOP conference prepares to elect a slate of leaders, likely keeping Mr. Johnson in the top job.
Mr. Johnson will seek the speakership again and could get a boost from Mr. Trump to win over a handful of detractors, such as Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Nearly all of the House GOP leaders are expected to keep their spots, save for House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York, who was tapped by Mr. Trump to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
The House GOP’s leadership elections also come as 16 House races have yet to be called. While Republicans are favored to keep the majority, it likely won’t be with a lot of wiggle room. And Mr. Trump’s appointments of Ms. Stefanik and Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida to be his National Security Advisor will temporarily shrink what will be another slim majority.
Mr. Johnson said that he and the president-elect have discussed plucking Republicans from the House for administration roles “multiple times a day for the last several days,” and he doesn’t expect to lose any more members.
“President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here, and it’s just a numbers game,” the speaker said. “You know, we believe we’re going to have a larger majority than we had last time. … But every single vote can count because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane, then it affects the votes on the floor.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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