PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Congressional Republicans summoned a show of unity Wednesday as they gathered for their annual policy retreat days into a rocky start for Donald Trump’s presidency.
Senate and House lawmakers arrived in Philadelphia by chartered train and headed into working sessions at a downtown hotel. Their goal: to plan a path forward with the new administration on health care, taxes and other issues.
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were addressing the gathering Thursday, along with British Prime Minister Theresa May, in a first for a foreign head of state.
Lawmakers were trying to focus on areas of agreement, downplaying distractions created by Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud and the inauguration crowd size.
“What we have to do is focus on the things that unite us,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Senate Republican, told reporters at a press conference opening the retreat, listing repealing and replacing the “Obamacare” health law, overhauling the loophole-ridden tax code and boosting national security. “Those are clear issues that unite us.”
As for message discipline and coordination with the White House, Thune deemed that “a work in progress.”
Lawmakers gathered as the White House announced a series of executive actions aimed at building a border wall and cracking down on illegal immigration, and as Trump declared there would be an investigation into voter fraud although there is no evidence of the millions of illegal ballots he claims cost him the popular vote.
The Trump administration is also readying a sweeping review of how America conducts the war on terror, including possible resumption of banned interrogation methods, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Associated Press.
GOP lawmakers were welcoming the moves on immigration. “The wall was a very big part” of Trump’s campaign promises, Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., told reporters.
But the actions on election fraud and torture drew a sometimes skeptical response as lawmakers arrived in Philadelphia.
“This is a debate we’ve had already, we believe it is settled law,” Thune said on the issue of torture, which Congress has banned.
Football star Peyton Manning also was scheduled to appear at the retreat.
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Associated Press writer Errin Haines Whack contributed to this report.