Former President Donald Trump led House Republicans through a grievance-filled closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday, relentlessly complaining about his legal troubles and election challenges, while attacking critics and only briefly addressing policy matters like abortion and taxes, according to multiple GOP lawmakers present.
Returning to the Capitol campus for the first time since leaving office after the January 6, 2021, riot, Trump spent over an hour with lawmakers, focusing on his own grievances.
In between tirades about Taylor Swift and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump berated his detractors, including those who had lost their seats and some who were in the room, and warned Republicans not to shy away from the contentious issue of abortion.
Reveling in the party’s alignment behind him, Trump boasted about the downfall of most of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him, specifically calling out GOP Rep. David Valadao of California.
“I never loved him,” Trump reportedly said of Valadao.
Following his guilty verdict, Trump’s Capitol Hill allies immediately proposed defunding the Department of Justice and even shutting down the government. House Republicans voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Wednesday. They are now pushing a bill allowing current and former presidents to move state-level cases to federal court, which gained momentum just before Trump’s visit and after his conviction.
In his meeting, Trump slammed the Department of Justice as “dirty no good bastards,” according to a source in the room.
GOP Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma said Trump expressed grave concern about the federal government being weaponized against him.
In a news conference after the meeting, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer claimed Trump’s convictions have only energized the party, propelling them toward victory in November.
“Anybody who thought that this President was going to be down after the sham trial, after that crooked trial we saw in New York, I think, again, it’s only given him even more energy,” Emmer said. “And what he did for us upstairs just now is, he showed us that energy and he showed us that positive outlook, despite all the garbage they’ve been throwing at him with their lawfare and their nonsense.”
Trump also criticized some states’ decisions following Roe v. Wade being overturned, though he acknowledged the matter is now rightly in the states’ hands.
The former president also touched on other priorities, such as building the southern border and halting further aid for Ukraine, despite support for it among many lawmakers in his party.
While ranting about election integrity issues, Trump called Milwaukee – where Republicans are holding their convention this summer – “horrible,” according to a source in the room.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a Wisconsin Republican who was in the room, clarified that Trump was referring specifically to crime in Milwaukee.
In a bizarre moment, Trump called Pelosi’s daughter a “wacko” and claimed she once told him that he and the former House speaker would have had a “great romance” in another life, according to a lawmaker in the room.
In response, one of Pelosi’s daughters posted on X: “speaking for all 4 Pelosi daughters — this is a LIE. His deceitful, deranged obsession with our mother is yet another reason Donald Trump is unwell, unhinged and unfit to step foot anywhere near her — or the White House.”
Trump also questioned why pop star Taylor Swift would support President Joe Biden over him, calling Biden a “dope.”
“Why would she endorse this dope,” Trump said, according to a member in the room. “He doesn’t know how to get off a stage.”
At the start of the meeting, House Republicans sang happy birthday to Trump, whose birthday is Friday, and presented him with the game ball and bat from the congressional baseball game that Republicans won on Wednesday, according to a source in the room.
Later, Trump met with Senate Republicans behind closed doors, where lawmakers said he struck a unifying tone.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has had a distant and icy relationship with Trump and has not spoken directly to him since December 2020, said he shook hands with Trump and described the meeting as positive.
Trump himself praised a “great meeting” with Senate Republicans, saying there’s “tremendous unity” in the GOP.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida described the meeting as “getting the team back together” and providing the state of Trump’s campaign.
“Optimism, but a lot of work to be done,” Rubio said.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Trump “expressed frustration” over his recent conviction.
“He expressed frustration over the recent trial, you can imagine, and justifiably in my view,” Cornyn said. He added that Trump did not bring up January 6.
