House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) made a trip to Mar-a-Lago earlier this week to meet with former President Donald Trump while fundraising in the area, according to a Politico report early Thursday.
The visit by the longtime Trump loyalist puts on full display the ongoing dedication by at least two of the House’s top Republicans who are continuing to bet on Trump even after he was embroiled in an impeachment trial — but ultimately acquitted — for inciting an insurrection on the Capitol.
“He’s in Florida this week on political travel and had meetings at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday and touched base with President Trump while he was there,” a spokeswoman for Scalise, Laura Fine told CNN.
The trip follows an earlier one made by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who presumably made the trip to the Palm Beach resort to mend his relationship with the ex-president last month after calling for Trump’s censure over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
No. 3 Republican Liz Cheney (R-WY) likely won’t be joining them, though. The GOP conference chair had notably parted ways with the former president when she voted to impeach him during House proceedings on Jan. 13. She has faced a revolt among her GOP colleagues for daring to cross Trump.
Similar fracturing seems to be taking place in the Senate — while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) appears to have bid Trump good riddance, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News during an interview on Tuesday night that Trump remains the GOP’s best shot at winning back its majority in 2022 — and that anyone who disagreed was “just not looking” at his major wins for conservatives.
