President Donald Trump has arrived on Capitol Hill to lunch with GOP senators after sparring with several of them, as congressional Republicans turn to overhauling the tax code.
It will be Mr. Trump's first appearance as president at Senate Republicans' regular Tuesday policy lunch at the Capitol. The gathering has the potential for awkward moments, because it follows spats between Trump and GOP senators such as John McCain of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee, as well as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Mr. Trump reportedly accepted the lunch invitation extended by Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming last week.
"We are pleased to announce that President Trump will join us next Tuesday to press our common agenda and speed a great American recovery," Barrasso said in a statement on Thursday.
He added, "Leader McConnell and our entire conference look forward to welcoming the president." The statement noted that the president said he was "eager to attend the policy lunch."
McConnell and Trump had a joint news conference last week to announce they had smoothed things over and to underscore their common focus on passing a tax overhaul.
The tax plan crafted by Trump and Republican leaders calls for steep tax cuts for corporations and potentially for individuals. It would double the standard deduction used by most Americans, shrink the number of tax brackets from seven to three or four, and repeal inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates. But crucial details of the plan have yet to be worked out, notably what income levels would fit with each tax bracket. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the House aims to pass their tax bill by Thanksgiving, though he said the Senate would take longer with their bill.
Follow along for live updates below:
Trump departs lunch with no remarks
The president leaves the Capitol with a wave to reporters. The presidential motorcade pulls away from the Capitol as Mr. Trump heads back to the White House for the day.
Senators depart policy lunch
Republicans depart their Senate policy lunch with the president. Asked how the meeting went, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, told reporters, "it went great, very upbeat." His colleague, Sen. Tim Scott called it "fantastic"
Senators talk policy lunch details
When asked if any clarification on what exactly will appear in the Republicans revived health care bill was expected to come out of Tuesday's policy lunch, Senator Roger Wicker R-Mississippi, told reporters that Mr. Trump was focusing on the "task at hand which is getting the tax bill to his desk."
"It's a great step that the speaker wants to take up which the Senate passed as it is. I think that moves us three weeks ahead of schedule," added Wicker.
Trump walks through Capitol hallway with Sen. McConnell
The president arrives and escorted by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as reporters shout questions. The two are set to meet briefly before they head to Senate policy lunches to greet other Republicans.
Meanwhile, a protester shouted and threw what appeared to be Russian flags at Mr. Trump, screaming "Trump is treason!" and "We should be talking about treason not tax cuts!"
CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports that the man has been identified as Ryan Clayton of the Americans Take Action group. Clayton made a similar disturbance at the Capitol when he threw a large Russian flag in the way of Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law, back in July when he met with Senate Intelligence investigators as part of their ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump motorcade arrives on Hill
Police motorcycles escorted the presidential motorcade to the Capitol ahead of Mr. Trump's lunch visit with GOP senators.
Trump to depart White House momentarily
President Trump is slated to depart the White House for his lunch on the Hill with fellow Republicans where he's expected to push his administration's tax plan.
Before the policy lunch, Mr. Trump is expected to briefly meet with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his office.
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