Just days after conservative leaders met in Washington to discuss how to derail Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, a new meeting is set to take place Monday afternoon between GOP lawmakers, party elders and the billionaire himself.
The gathering, first reported by the Washington Post, will take place at the Jones Day law firm in Washington, just hours before Trump is set to deliver a pivotal speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference.
A complete list of attendees has not yet been made public, but early reports indicate Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has long encouraged Republicans to take Trump’s candidacy seriously, will be present.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will not attend the gathering, citing a previously scheduled trip to his home state.
The meeting has caused outrage among conservatives affiliated with the #NeverTrump movement, including RedState.com editor Erick Erickson. Erickson organized a similar gathering last week with the main goal of developing a strategy to prevent Trump from securing the GOP nomination.
“The capitulation of the Republican Establishment will happen today in Washington at the law firm of Jones Day,” Erickson wrote on his website Monday morning.
“Leaders of the party will gather to kneel before Donald Trump and pledge allegiance to him in an effort to finally stop Ted Cruz from making DC listen,” he added.
Our Principles PAC, a leading anti-Trump outside group, is also expected to send a video tracker to the gathering to reveal which Republican lawmakers chose to attend.
Trump will head straight to the site of his upcoming Washington hotel after the meeting for a press conference and tour of the property with reporters.
