Trump set to huddle with GOP senators in D.C. this week

• Trump will be in town to meet with top executives as part of a Business Roundtable event.
• He was invited by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who chairs the conference. Barrasso is expected to take up the No. 2 position in the Senate after leadership elections this fall.

The intrigue: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will attend the meeting on Thursday.

• He has had a tumultuous relationship with the former president. The two have not spoken since December 2020.

The big picture: The meeting comes as Trump allies already have been coordinating with Hill leaders in both chambers to begin greasing the skids for a potential second Trump administration.

• Russell Vought — who was Trump's Office of Management and Budget director and is a key player in transition preparations — has urged Republican senators to kick this year's government funding fight to next year to allow Trump more leverage.
• Both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) have talked Trump about how to tackle GOP priorities next year.

• Another area of focus has been budget reconciliation — a process that would allow the Senate to get around the usual 60-vote threshold requirement.

What they're saying:"The meeting will be forward focused on how Republicans can work together to advance policies to save America, including protecting Social Security and Medicare, securing the southern border, and cutting taxes for hardworking families to bring back the booming economy from President Trump's first term," a Trump campaign senior official told Axios in a statement.