Trump, House GOP Meeting Over Agenda   01/06 06:23

   

   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 Trump's 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.

   The House GOP is 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 at a time 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 
Nicols 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 
involved in the planning of the meeting and granted 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.