McCarthy and Trump discuss Republicans’ plans to win House majority at Florida meeting Thursday

Former President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met Thursday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, where the two Republicans discussed strategy for winning the House majority in next year’s mid-terms, according to a readout of the meeting provided by Trump’s Political Action Committee Save America.

“They discussed many topics, number one of which was taking back the House in 2022,” the statement read. “President Trump’s popularity has never been stronger than it is today, and his endorsement means more than perhaps any endorsement at any time.”

The statement described the meeting as “cordial” and highlighted a stronger than expected performance among key House GOP candidates, though Democrats maintained their House majority with a slimmer margin.

McCarthy’s visit comes at a tumultuous time for the Republican Party, following Trump’s role ahead of the January 6 deadly riot storming the Capitol that led to Trump’s second impeachment just days before he left office. Ten House Republicans voted to impeach Trump and the Senate is expected to pick up the former president’s trial next month. Still, all but five Republican senators voted earlier this week that such a trial was not constitutional, outlining just some of the divides in the party, as Democrats now control the legislative and executive branches.

CNN reported earlier Thursday that two sources told CNN that some people warned McCarthy not to go see Trump. A source familiar with the matter said it made McCarthy look weak. Another source close to McCarthy told CNN that the California Republican was told that he would look like he was “crawling back to Trump,” and that it would further isolate him from mainstream donors who want to move away from Trump.

McCarthy was also in Florida fundraising as the House is out this week.

This story is breaking and will be updated.