Politics

(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump has been the ultimate GOP mover and shaker since 2015, using his sway to impact the party far beyond just his own political career. Now, Vice President-elect JD Vance has some early opportunities to make his own mark.

Vance, still Ohio’s junior senator, has shepherded some of Trump’s Cabinet picks around and can use his ties to his colleagues to promote others. He is also in touch with Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine as he mulls who to tap to replace Vance in the Senate until 2026, when that person would then have to run in a special election to serve the rest of the seat’s term.

It’s unlikely that Vance — or anyone — can emulate Trump’s unique ability to affect change in the party. But Vance is the country’s second-highest ranking Republican and considered Trump’s heir apparent, making the upcoming opportunities chances to glimpse the power the 40-year-old holds across the GOP to promote the incoming administration’s goals but also his own stock beyond his formal role.

“It’s pretty clear that he is in a pole position after Trump to help lead the party. So, he’s going to, I think, take these opportunities to show the party that he’s a loyal soldier to Donald Trump, but he’s also going to be a future force to be reckoned with,” said former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who remains in touch with Trump’s team.

Vance is not a sherpa for every single Cabinet pick, but he did escort former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s failed attorney general pick, and Pete Hegseth, tapped to lead the Pentagon, around Capitol Hill. He’s also making calls to Senate colleagues about some of Trump’s Cabinet choices, according to sources familiar with the matter.

He’s also in what one source described as semi-regular contact with DeWine as the two-term governor mulls who to appoint to the Senate seat that Vance is vacating. The decision is ultimately DeWine’s, and there currently doesn’t appear to be a favorite for the role, but sources said they would be surprised if the person was someone who rubbed Vance and Trump the wrong way.

“Ohio is his domain, so I think you can expect that his voice in the upcoming Senate race will be important,” one source close to Vance said. “There is a want to land on somebody that everybody involved will be happy with, DeWine, Trump and JD.”

To be certain, Vance can only move the needle so far with Cabinet confirmations and Senate appointments, decisions that are up to a Senate looking for chances to assert its independence and a governor who has clashed with Trump but remained electorally viable. There will also be tougher battles to come as the next administration works to muscle through its policy priorities, and Trump will still run the show as a dominant political figure who virtually blocks out the sun.

But the dual conversations over appointments could offer early indications of how much Republicans listen when Vance speaks, even as someone’s No. 2.

“He talks to [senators] a lot,” said one source in Vance’s orbit. “They’re his colleagues still for another four weeks. So, yeah, he works the phones. He was on Capitol Hill this week. I think he wants to see folks get in there so the administration can hit the ground running on day one.

“He’s a surrogate for when the President has to be in multiple places at the same time. He’s influential, but I don’t know that he’s more persuasive than the president as such. He’s augmenting,” the person added.

Already, Vance has seen some of his allies elevated in the incoming administration.

James Braid, who was Vance’s deputy chief of staff in the Senate, will be the White House’s formal liaison to Congress. Daniel Driscoll, another Vance ally, was tapped to be secretary of the Army. Trump picked hedge fund manager and Vance friend Scott Bessent as his treasury secretary after he donated millions to the presidential ticket.

And Vance has already proven his sway by helping now-Ohio Republican Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno win Trump’s endorsement in the Ohio Senate primary this year and then get him over the finish line against Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown who had defied political gravity for several cycles.

There have been setbacks, too — Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration after sexual misconduct allegations dogged his nomination, and Hegseth is facing headwinds over allegations of sexual assault and heavy drinking that he’s denied. However, it’s unclear how much outside help could improve their chances given the gravity of the allegations.

“This is a chance to see how many of Vice President-Elect Vance’s confidants end up in the Cabinet, and whether they are Cabinet secretaries, or the other place to take a very serious look is the undersecretaries,” said Steve Stivers, a former congressman who leads the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. “It’s not just the Cabinet secretaries, but the undersecretaries that matter here, because those will be people filling their résumé being ready to move up.”

Still, there’s no guarantee that Vance will be able to be as big of a mover and shaker as normally possible for vice presidents in Trump’s White House.

The president-elect is famously wary of others enjoying too bright of a spotlight, and there could be other high-profile Republicans who are also anticipated to be power players after Trump leaves office, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick to lead the State Department, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is rumored to be in the mix for Pentagon chief if Hegseth’s nomination falls through.

“Obviously, he has a great opportunity here. But I think for folks to say it’s a fait accompli that JD Vance is somehow ahead of the rest of the field today, I just don’t think that’s accurate,” said one former senior Trump administration official.

“What is he going to do that’s outside of the Trump shadow, that is actually him, that is not him acting as a liaison for Donald Trump? And of those things, what does he do that pisses off Donald Trump? Because it’s a guy that doesn’t really like people operating outside of his shadow.”

But at the end of the day, Vance will have a more elevated platform than any other Republican in the country except for one, and Trump enters office as a lame duck because of constitutional term limits, possibly leaving Vance well-positioned for a potential vacuum in a party dominated by Trump for nearly a decade.

“Trump picked him for a specific reason, and that reason is to carry the mantle. Now, he’s 40 years old. That dude could be around for a while. Trump was looking ahead,” said Ohio GOP strategist Mike Hartley. “I think he’s going to give him every opportunity to succeed.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Pete Hegseth’s attorney has threatened legal action against a woman who accused President-elect Donald Trump’s selection for defense secretary of sexual assault — if she repeats what he calls “false” claims and his client ultimately fails to get confirmed.

Tim Parlatore said in an interview on CNN Thursday night that a confidentiality agreement covering both her and Hegseth, part of a 2020 settlement with the former Fox News host, is no longer in effect, and that the unidentified woman, who filed a police report in 2017 alleging Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a hotel, is now free to speak publicly about the case.

However, Parlatore said he would consider a lawsuit against the woman for civil extortion or defamation if she made what he called false claims that jeopardized his client’s future in the Trump administration or “his future employment opportunities.”

“If she doesn’t tell the truth, if she repeats these false statements, then she will be subject to a defamation lawsuit. But now that she — and she’s well aware of that, her attorney was well aware that because of the breach of the agreement that is no longer in any force, in effect, she is free to speak if she wants,” the attorney said.

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that would hold Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, told CNN Thursday that the threat to potentially sue Hegseth’s accuser is meant to intimidate her and is “reprehensible.”

“What they’re doing, essentially, is threatening or intimidating a potential witness,” he said.

Details of her allegations about the October 2017 incident were compiled in a Monterey Police Department report released last month. At the time, the woman told investigators that she encountered Hegseth at an event afterparty at a California hotel where both had been drinking.

The woman claimed she did not recall how she ended up in Hegseth’s room later and said he sexually assaulted her, according to the report. Hegseth “took her phone from her hands” and, when she attempted to leave, “blocked the door with his body,” according to what she told investigators.

Hegseth told investigators the sexual encounter was consensual. No charges were brought. However in December 2020, Hegseth paid the woman an undisclosed sum as part of a settlement because he feared his career would suffer if her allegations were made public, according to Parlatore.

Hegseth has repeatedly reiterated that he was not charged and has denied the assault allegations.

He has come under heavy fire over the last few weeks over news reports about the incident and other allegations of heavy drinking, mismanagement, extramarital affairs and other controversies.

Trump has stood by his selection and Hegseth has dismissed questions about whether he would withdraw.

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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday made his first public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick for defense secretary, since Hegseth began making the rounds on Capitol Hill speaking to Republican senators amid misconduct allegations.

“Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

“He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that,” Trump added.

The post comes after Trump’s public silence as Hegseth met with GOP senators every day this week in the face of new allegations of sexual impropriety, financial mismanagement, public drunkenness and other personal misconduct.

The New Yorker reported the claims over the weekend. ABC News has not independently confirmed the magazine’s account.

Hegseth has denied the accusations, but telling senators he’s a “changed” man and vowing not to drink alcohol should he be confirmed to head up the Pentagon.

ABC News previously reported Trump had not been working the phones for Hegseth as he did for Matt Gaetz, who similarly faced sexual assault allegations. Gaetz ultimately withdrew his name from consideration.

But Hegseth on Thursday vowed not to back down as he wrapped up sit-downs with senators who will be tasked with his confirmation.

“The conversations have been robust, candid at times,” he said. “There’s great questions on policy, personality, everything, so we are going to earn those votes, fighting all the way through the tape.”

His confirmation, though, remains far from certain. Republicans will have a narrow three-seat majority in the Senate next year.

Trump’s team, ABC News reported, was focused on figuring out where the nine female Republican senators stand on Hegseth. So far, one key female Republican on the Armed Services Committee — Joni Ernst — has notably not yet backed Hegseth. Two female senators — Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Katie Britt of Alabama — have endorsed Hegseth.

Several Republican senators have said they’d like to see background checks for Trump’s Cabinet picks.

Multiple sources, including a Trump transition official, have confirmed to ABC News that Hegseth will be getting a background check from the FBI. Hegseth informed the transition team earlier this week he’d be willing to get the check.

Hegseth’s attorney Tim Parlatore said Thursday on CNN that Hegseth’s name had been submitted to the FBI and that the FBI gave them the needed forms on Wednesday.

“I am expecting that the background check is going to take a lot of the false stories that have been circulated in the media and it’s going to put them completely to bed. I think that the surprise you’re going to find is how false all the reporting has been,” Parlatore said.

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(NEW YORK) — The father of Thomas Matthew Crooks, Donald Trump’s would-be assassin, called police out of concern for his missing son hours after the July 13 shooting occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania, newly obtained audio revealed.

At 10:56 p.m., nearly five hours after Trump was shot, Matthew Crooks called 911, worried because his son had gone radio silent since mid-afternoon, he explained.

“Hi, yes. Uh, my name is Matthew Crooks – I was calling in regards to my son, Thomas. Uh, he belongs to the Clairton Sportsman Club.”

“The reason I’m calling is he left the house here at about a quarter to two this afternoon, and we’ve gotten no contact from him, no text messages, nothing’s been returned, and he’s not home yet. That’s totally not like him. So we’re kind of worried, not really sure what we should do,” Crooks Sr. said, his voice steady but sounding slightly tense.

The recording of the call was obtained by ABC News via a records request from Allegheny County, where the Crooks family home is located.

Matthew Crooks also mentioned his son is 20 years old.

The call audio cuts off in the dispatcher’s mid-sentence as she confirmed the timeframe when the family last heard from their son.

Thomas Matthew Crooks allegedly fired as many as eight rounds from a rooftop 200-300 yards away, shooting Trump in the ear, killing one spectator and injuring two others. According to an intelligence bulletin from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, Crooks bought 50 rounds of ammunition from a local gun store on the day of the shooting. Two improvised explosive devices were found in his car and another in his home, according to the bulletin.

From the time he fired his first shot to the gunman being killed was just 26 seconds, according to law enforcement officials. Eleven seconds after the first shot, Secret Service counter snipers acquired their target — and 15 seconds after that, Crooks was shot dead.

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(WASHINGTON) — The House is expected to vote Thursday night on whether to force the Ethics Committee to release the report from its investigation of former Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Democratic Rep. Sean Casten‘s privileged resolution requires the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz. Casten introduced an updated privileged resolution Tuesday which included several previous examples of the committee releasing reports on former members of Congress. Another from Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen requires the committee to preserve all documents related to Gaetz.

Republican leadership is expected to introduce a motion to table and effectively kill the measures, but it wasn’t clear Thursday afternoon if that effort would be successful — it would take only a handful of Republicans to cross party lines and vote with Democrats to force the committee to release the report.

The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift.

If the motion to table the effort fails, the chamber will take a vote on whether to release the Gaetz report.

The floor vote will come after the bipartisan Ethics Committee meets Thursday afternoon, when the 10-member panel will discuss the report. During the last meeting in November, Republican committee members blocked the release of the Gaetz report.

Johnson has consistently said the Gaetz ethics report should not be released to the public, citing a longstanding tradition of dropping investigations after a member leaves Congress. Gaetz resigned abruptly last month after President-elect Donald Trump announced him as his selection for attorney general. He later withdrew from consideration after it became clear he was facing an uphill climb from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, which would vote whether to confirm his nomination.

Democrats pushed for the report’s release after Trump’s announcement, saying it was relevant to the Senate’s consideration of him for attorney general. Even though Gaetz withdrew, Democrats decided to continue their effort.

Gaetz was reelected to the 119th Congress before Trump picked him for AG, but he announced after his withdrawal that he would not serve another term. He pledged that he remains “fully committed” to assisting the president-elect.

Gaetz has since been selling private videos on Cameo, a website where users can purchase a personalized video message from from celebrities.

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(WASHINGTON) — Work-from-home policies came under fire from X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as he and Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy took their plans to reduce government waste to the floors of Congress Thursday.

The businessmen, who President-elect Donald Trump selected to lead an outside advisory board called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), attended several closed-door meetings with GOP senators and House members to sell their plans to cut as much as $2 trillion from the federal budget of what they called waste.

“I think we should make sure we spend the public’s money well,” Musk told reporters between the meetings.

Musk posted on his social media platform X from inside the Capitol about what he and Ramaswamy say is a key issue for DOGE: The number of federal employees working from home.

The Federal Office of Management and Budget released a report in August that found “as of May 2024, approximately 50% of federal workers worked every day in roles that are not eligible for telework, including those who work onsite providing healthcare to our veterans, inspecting our food supply, and managing Federal natural resources.”

Musk shared a new report from Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the chair of the Senate DOGE caucus, which claimed only 6% of federal workers show up in person to work on a full-time basis. Many others work from home part-time, and roughly one-third work from home full-time, according to the report.

“If you exclude security guards & maintenance personnel, the number of government workers who show up in person and do 40 hours of work a week is closer to 1%! Almost no one,” Musk posted in response to the report.

Ernst’s report includes several anecdotes and alleged social media posts about federal employees who worked from home, including a Department of Veterans Affairs manager who posted a photo of himself working from a bathtub. Ernst’s team included the photo in their report.

The OMB report found that “telework-eligible personnel spent approximately 60% of regular, working hours inperson, at agency-assigned job sites.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he agreed with Musk’s stance on work-from-home policies for federal workers and floated a claim, without any citation, that only 1% of federal workers were in their office.

“You will see a demand…that federal workers return to their desks. That’s just common sense,” he said at a news conference in between the meetings.

Musk, who brought his son X to the proceedings, and Ramaswamy walked past reporters before the news conference began with Musk carrying his son on his shoulders.

Musk has been a staunch opponent of work-from-home policies and removed such policies from his businesses, including X. He threatened layoffs for X employees who did not comply with his policy, which instructed any special requests for remote work needed to be reviewed by him before approval.

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(WASHINGTON) — Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said Thursday she isn’t ready to support Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary.

“Well, I did have a very long, lengthy discussion with Pete yesterday, and I do appreciate his service to the nation. I also am a combat veteran. So, we talked about a number of those issues, and we will continue with the vetting process. I think that is incredibly important,” Ernst told Fox News. “So, again, all I’m saying is we had a very frank and productive discussion, and I know that we will continue to have conversations for months.”

Pressed by host Bill Hemmer that it “doesn’t sound in your answer that you got to a yes,” Ernst replied, “I think you are right.”

Hegseth continues to make the rounds on Capitol Hill to try to convince senators that he’s up to the job amid allegations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of finances. He denies the allegations.

He met Wednesday with Ernst, a key Republican member of the Armed Services committee and herself a survivor of sexual assault.

Upon leaving the meeting, Hegseth told reporters that he and Ernst had an “engaging and instructive conversation.”

Ernst later posted, “I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s service to our country, something we both share. Today, as part of the confirmation process, we had a frank and thorough conversation.”

ABC News has previously reported Ernst to be on a growing list of candidates emerging to possibly replace Hegseth as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense.

When asked Wednesday if there was any chance she was being considered to replace Hegseth, she merely responded, “Mr. Hegseth is the nominee.” She was tight-lipped over whether their meeting alleviated any concerns she might have.

Ernst is the first female combat veteran in the Senate. She also has a long record of supporting legislation aimed at addressing sexual assault and harassment in the military, and has been outspoken about her own experiences with sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence.

Notably, Hegseth has said that women should not serve in combat roles in the military, and he continues to face his own allegations of sexual misconduct and impropriety.

Hegseth has denied the sexual assault allegations. On Wednesday, he told the Megyn Kelly show “absolutely not” in regards to rape accusations, and he denied many of the claims that he mistreated women.

All eyes will be on Ernst as Hegseth’s confirmation process plays out. Last month, Ernst told ABC News that an FBI background check into Hegseth would be “helpful.”

In an interview with Bloomberg News in 2019, Ernst first disclosed the details of her rape as a college student at Iowa State University, in which she tearfully retold being in a “physically and sexually abusive” relationship with someone who raped her.

During her college years, she volunteered at a safe house for battered and abused women and children.

While speaking to Bloomberg, Ernst also alleged that her ex-husband, Gail Ernst, had physically abused her in an incident in which he “grabbed [her] by the throat” before he “threw [her]” on the ground and “pounded [her] head.” Gail Ernst declined to comment on the allegations at the time.

Ernst also claimed to have endured sexual harassment in the military, which she described to Time Magazine in 2014.

“I had comments, passes, things like that,” Ernst said. “These were some things where I was able to say stop and it simply stopped but there are other circumstances both for women and for men where they don’t stop and they may be afraid to report it.”

“Sexual assault has no place in our military — or anywhere else — and it’s far past time we take more steps toward preventing and reducing these heart-wrenching crimes,” Ernst said in a statement after introducing a bipartisan bill in 2021 to prevent military sexual assault.

Ernst was a member of Iowa State University’s ROTC program at 20 years old before joining the U.S. Army Reserve. She later served as a company commander of an Iowa National Guard transportation unit in Kuwait.

She spent 23 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Ernst has been vocal about her support for Trump, despite him also having been accused of sexual assault by multiple women — which he has repeatedly denied. Ernst was even a contender to be his running mate in the 2016 election.

“I would encourage women to stand up and say, ‘You know what, I’m not going to put up with his nonsense, but I do agree with him on this policy,'” Ernst said in a 2016 interview with WHO. “Sometimes we have to look beyond certain aspects of a person and figure out do we agree.”

She also told Bloomberg that it was “outrageous to suggest that anyone who has been the victim of sexual assault should therefore be a Hillary Clinton supporter.”

Ernst became the first woman to represent Iowa in either house of Congress when she was elected to the Senate in 2014.

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(WASHINGTON) — Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and Republican Texas Congressman Pat Fallon got into a screaming match Thursday at a House panel investigating the assassination attempt against President-elect Donald Trump.

Fallon yelled about Rowe’s attendance at the 9/11 memorial. He accused Rowe of putting the President’s Secret Service detail out of position so he could sit behind him during the 9/11 remembrance ceremony.

“Congressman, what you’re not seeing is the [lack] of the detail off out of the picture’s view. And that is the day where we remember more than 3000 people that have died on 911,” Rowe said Thursday. “I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center. I was there at Fresh Kills..”

Fallon yelled at Rowe, asking if he was the special agent in charge.

“I was there to show respect for members that died on 9/11,” Rowe yelled back his finger pointing at Fallon. “Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes,” Rowe shouted.

“Oh I am not,” Fallon responded.

“You are sir,” Rowe yelled back. “And you are out of line!”

“I am an elected member of Congress, and I’m asking you a serious question,” Fallon said.

“I am a public servant who has served,” Rowe yelled back.

Fallon accused the acting director of putting the life of the vice president in jeopardy to audition for the job.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — Accountability for the members of the Secret Service who were at fault for the July 13 assassination attempt against President-elect Donald Trump is “occurring,” acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe told a House task force investigating the incident on Thursday.

“All disciplinary measures are imposed to promote the efficiency of the Secret Service and to encourage behaviors and principles that ensure the success of the agency’s mission,” he testified.

“Employees receiving proposals of discipline will be provided due process under agency policy as well as any applicable laws and regulations. But, let me be clear, there will be accountability, and that accountability is occurring. Consistent with applicable laws and regulations, I cannot comment further on specific disciplinary actions underway or being considered.”

At the same time, he said, the agency should not be defined by one failure.

Suspected gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting Trump in the ear, killing one spectator and wounding two others.

A Secret Service Mission Assurance report was released earlier in the year, along with a Department of Homeland Security independent review and a Senate report.

Rowe testified that since becoming director he has focused on preventing another July 13 shooting from happening again.

In his memo, he said the Secret Service increased its staffing levels on the president-elect’s detail, expanding the use of drones at venues, expanding counter-drone technology at venues, addressing the faulty radio issue by working with the Defense Department, using other federal law enforcement agencies to help with protective visits and expanding the ballistic countermeasures at Secret Service protected events.

At the president-elect’s residences, the Secret Service has worked with state and local partners to bolster security and use cutting-edge technology to do so.

“My goal is to improve our mission effectiveness and rebuild public trust,” Rowe said. “One of the key systemic changes was the directive to mandate a unified command in a singular location for all protective sites, something that was not done on July 13th in Butler. This co-location enhances our communications and intelligence-sharing mechanisms with state, local and federal partners to better anticipate threats and respond to them more swiftly.”

Rowe testified that he has also prioritized the mental health of agents, adding a chief wellness officer just this week.

“While I cannot undo the harm that has been done, I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that the Secret Service never has a failure like this again.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was back on Capitol Hill on Thursday to meet with Republican lawmakers as misconduct allegations continued to cloud his selection to lead the Pentagon.

But behind the scenes, Trump’s political team is focused on figuring out where female Republican senators stand on Hegseth, according to two people involved in the conversations. Trump’s advisers are fully aware that with such a thin GOP majority, Hegseth’s fate could all come down to the women in the conference.

ABC News was also told Trump has expressed to those close to him that Hegseth should have been more honest and forthcoming about the challenges he could face getting through the confirmation process given his history.

Trump, who is considering other options for the role, has not been working the phones for Hegseth — as he did for Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz was Trump’s original pick for attorney general but said he withdrew his name from consideration as he faced his own allegations of sexual misconduct. Trump has since tapped former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi to head up the Justice Department, pending Senate confirmation.

Hegseth has told senators his mother has been making calls to senators on his behalf, according to sources familiar with the matter. He has also told senators he is open to a background check, according to multiple sources.

During Wednesday’s meetings with GOP senators, Hegseth promised some he would not drink alcohol if confirmed.

“The allegation was made about him being intoxicated at several times and so the questions that every member will be asking him led to his statement,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, current ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and expected to take over the chairmanship in January — presiding over Hegseth’s confirmation hearings.

Hegseth on Thursday was expected to meet with Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Jim Banks of Indiana, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

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