WASHINGTON: The invitation arrived in the final days of the summer recess, President Donald Trump's political team summoning House Republican staff to an early morning meeting about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the coming midterm elections.
"Attendance will be tracked by Team Trump -- see you there!" read the flyer obtained by The Associated Press.
On Wednesday morning, staffers lined up to check in to the private meeting at Republican National Committee headquarters across the street from the US Capitol.
What would have been a routine political strategy session with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, pollster Tony Fabrizio and political director James Blair showcased the depth of Trump's reach into the affairs of the legislative branch, with Republican majorities in Congress being led by a powerful executive.
As Congress returns for a busy fall stretch, Trump was pushing lawmakers to drop their probe into the Jeffrey Epstein files -- "it's enough," he said at the White House -- despite a groundswell of bipartisan support for a full airing of the Justice Department's information about the former financier accused of sex trafficking.
Trump has unleashed squadrons of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., and is eyeing similar incursions into other cities, including Chicago, even after a federal judge said his use of the military to quell protests in Los Angeles broke the law.