Sarah Westwood of the Washington Examiner reports uncertainty among Trump administration leaders and congressional Republicans about their mutual goals this year.
President Trump or senior White House officials are slated to meet at least twice with GOP congressional leaders next week as Republican lawmakers prepare to return to Washington amid uncertainty about which of the big-ticket items on their legislative agenda they will prioritize first.
Leaders from both parties will sit down with White House chief of staff John Kelly on Wednesday at the Capitol to hammer out a deal on spending caps ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline to avert a government shutdown, a congressional aide told the Washington Examiner.
Trump will then meet Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., at Camp David next weekend, where the three will huddle over legislative priorities for the new year.
Beyond the immediate need to fund the government past mid-January, the next focus of congressional leaders appears less clear. The White House, Ryan, and McConnell have each expressed interest in pursuing different policies in the new year as Republicans continue to ride high on the successful passage of their tax reform bill earlier this month.
