Trump to meet with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill

President Trump will join GOP senators at their weekly policy lunch on Tuesday, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said. 

“We are pleased to announce that President Trump will join us next Tuesday to press our common agenda and speed a great American recovery,” Barrasso, who extended the invitation to the president, said in a statement.

“Leader McConnell and our entire conference look forward to welcoming the president,” he added, referring to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

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The lunch will mark Trump’s first time addressing senators at the Capitol since taking office. He has, however, hosted the GOP conference at the White House before.

The appearance comes amid a debate among Republicans over a bipartisan plan to fund the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing reduction subsidies unveiled by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) this week.

Trump moved to end the subsidies last week, and has been unclear about whether he will support the measure. He has called it a “short-term” fix to stabilize ObamaCare insurance markets, but has also said that he’s opposed to bailing out insurance companies.

At the same time, the GOP is scrambling to pass tax reform by the end of the year. The first step in that process is for lawmakers to pass a 2018 budget resolution. The Senate is expected to take up that resolution either late Thursday or early Friday.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he thinks it has the votes to pass in the upper chamber. Congress has not yet drafted the legislation for the actual tax cuts Trump is hoping for.