Former President Donald Trump came to Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with House and Senate Republicans in two separate meetings. Lawmakers inside the room told Straight Arrow News that Trump talked about his 2024 campaign strategy and policy. 

Former President Donald Trump: “We have great unity, we have great common sense, a lot of very smart people in this room and a lot of people that love our country.” 

Lawmakers were quick to talk about the former President’s new idea – ending taxes on tips. 

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-TN,: “just remove all taxes on tips is basically what he said. I don’t it doesn’t you don’t need a bunch of Harvard lawyers and accountants in there to tell me to do that.” 

The President also spoke about foreign policy and according to one representative said he wants to end support for foreign wars, specifically Ukraine, and increase financial support for members of the U-S miltary. . 

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL: “Trump reflected on the fact that it is a travesty in our country, that you’ve got troops who are on food stamps, who are not even getting minimum wage when you look at the hours that they’re putting in, and he lamented the fact that we’re sending $60 billion to Ukraine, and we’re not paying our troops more. So President Trump was explicitly a critic of the Ukraine aid and a supporter of the increases in pay for American troops.”  

On border security, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said they would make another attempt getting HR2 signed into law. That’s the Republican’s border security bill that they passed in the House but could not move any further. It would limit the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to grant immigrant parole and restart border wall construction but also included other measures that critics called harsh. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA: “We’ve already passed HR to our border security plan. President Trump supports it. I think that would be something that he would get passed, literally in his first few days of office.”

Amidst the tight security there were two small groups of Trump supporters and very loud protestors. 

Rep. Rich McCormick R-GA: “don’t hear Americans speak, we have to yell. At anybody whenever you go, all you do is yell. It’s never it’s never convinced anybody” 

This was Trump’s first time back to the Capitol since the January 6th 2021 riot. Some Democrats criticized his appearance. Speaker Emerita Nancy told Politico: “Today, the instigator of an insurrection is returning to the scene of the crime. January 6th was a crime against the Capitol, that saw Nazi and Confederate flags flying under the dome that Lincoln built. It was a crime against the Constitution and its peaceful transfer of power, in a desperate attempt to cling to power. 

Reporter: “Did Trump return to the crime scene of January the sick today?”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-TN: “No, no, it’s not a crime scene man. If you think some guy with horns is going to take over our country. Ma’am, you need to go back to whatever, whatever news source you’re from.” 

Republicans are also working on a bill that would allow the President to move state trials to federal court, but that does not have a chance at being approved in the current Congress. For more news straight from DC, download the straight arrow news app.