EXCLUSIVE: The top Republican on the House Transportation Committee’s subcommittee on aviation is calling for a congressional hearing into the deadly collision between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C.

"We say we are the gold standard, we just need to continue to maintain that level," Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who chairs the subcommittee, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

"I just want to sit down with all of them and, when the [National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)] does its report – make sure that it’s very accurate, it’s factual, and that they come up with some recommendations – and then we’ll have to see if we need to change direction or change course based upon those recommendations. But we don’t know yet."

Nehls praised Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves, noting his background as a pilot, and said he would be asking the Missouri Republican to convene meetings with the affected parties and those investigating the incident. Nehls suggested potential closed-door meetings to enable more candid discussions but said a public hearing would also be in order.

DC PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATORS TO REVIEW COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 2 AIRCRAFT: SENATOR 

"We have to find out the reason for the crash and then come up with, you know, recommendations to make sure it doesn’t happen again," he said. "We don’t need to be sitting on this. I don’t want to hear, ‘It’s going to take 18 months.’ I don’t want to hear that."

And it appears federal investigators are on that same page.

NTSB officials said they hope to have a preliminary report out in about 30 days.

"I think that would be fair," Nehls said. "But that shouldn't stop Congress looking into this and doing what we can to help. I think President Trump… expects it, and he has a right to expect it from us, to make sure that we keep our aviation industry the standard for the world."

And while he is hoping for quick results, Nehls emphatically cautioned against any early speculation about who or what is to blame for the tragedy.

RECOVERY EFFORTS UNDERWAY AFTER AMERICAN AIRLINES JET, MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDE MIDAIR NEAR DC

"Everybody wants to speculate as to how did this happen, why this happened. Whose fault is that? Is it the helicopter? Was it the airplane?" Nehls said. 

"I think that is irresponsible. I think you just need to give it time for the NTSB to investigate, you know, conduct a very thorough investigation."

Finger-pointing and speculation have already run rampant, however. Some have blamed Congress for authorizing too many new airline contracts at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which is closer to the U.S. Capitol than the much larger Washington-Dulles International Airport.

Others, primarily on the right, have argued that diversity initiatives by Democratic administrations helped lead to the tragedy.

"I think it’s too early for all of that," Nehls said when asked about both.

No evidence has come out to support any conclusion or cause of the crash so far.

Nehls spoke with Fox News Digital the day after a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three service members crashed into a passenger plane heading from Wichita, Kansas, which was moments away from landing at Reagan National Airport.

Both aircraft were seen plummeting into the Potomac River between Washington and neighboring Arlington, Virginia, where the airport is located.

U.S. officials have said there are no survivors, and recovery efforts are still underway.

Fox News Digital reached out to the House Transportation Committee for comment.

American Airlines has said 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane, and the airline encouraged any loved ones looking for information to call the numbers on its site.

EXCLUSIVE: House Republican leadership is encouraging lawmakers to back up President Donald Trump's desire to return the Panama Canal to U.S. ownership, a new memo suggests.

The House GOP Policy Committee, led by Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the No. 5 House Republican leader, sent the document to legislative directors across the conference on Wednesday.

The two-page memo, simply titled "Panama Canal," begins by highlighting Trump's past comments about China's influence over the Panama Canal and his goal of "taking it back." 

It also noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be visiting Panama on his first trip as Trump's top diplomat.

MARCO RUBIO HEADING TO PANAMA ON FIRST TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE 

The memo starts with details of the history of the U.S. and the Panama Canal. "The Panama Canal was built by the U.S. between 1904 and 1914. The canal was leased to the U.S. for nearly 75 years under the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal."

It also points out that it was under the late former President Jimmy Carter that Panama was given control of the canal, via treaties later criticized by Trump.

The treaties with Carter "gave the U.S. the permanent explicit right to intervene to keep the canal open in the event of any threat that may interfere with the canal’s continued neutral service to ships from all nations," the memo said before laying out arguments for why Republicans believe Panama has since violated its end of the deal.

"About 5% of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, saving 6,835 miles off a journey that would otherwise require a long and dangerous trip skirting the southern tip of South America," the memo states. "The United States is Panama’s largest provider of foreign direct investment—$3.8 billion annually."

RUSSIA SOUNDS OFF ON TRUMP’S THREAT TO RETAKE THE PANAMA CANAL 

Meanwhile, "Chinese companies now operate ports at both ends of the canal. Chinese construction companies in 2018 funded a $1.4 billion bridge project spanning the canal," it reads.

"The treaties require that transit fees be ‘just, reasonable, equitable, and consistent with international law,"’ and that Panama maintain the canal’s permanent neutrality," the memo said. "The high fees charged by Panama as well as Panama’s openness to investment by the Chinese Communist Party in the canal zone are likely both in breach of the terms of the treaties."

Congress has already granted the president wide authority over international commerce in the event of an emergency, but GOP lawmakers have signaled they want to ease those guardrails further.

Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., introduced a bill earlier this month to let Trump re-purchase the Panama Canal for the U.S. A short while later, freshman Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., unveiled legislation to widen Trump’s non-emergency tariff power.

Additionally, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has a bill to authorize Trump to enter into negotiations to buy Greenland.

The memo from Hern’s policy committee is notable, however, as an apparent subtle marching order to the House GOP conference to continue down that path.

It could also likely embolden Republican lawmakers to find legislative avenues to further back up Trump’s push to purchase the canal, particularly given the Panamanian government’s opposition to the U.S. president’s plan.

DORAL, Fla. — The House GOP’s three-day annual retreat has ended without public progress on Republicans’ budget reconciliation plans, and some lawmakers are getting nervous about falling behind schedule.

"After two days at our House Republican winter retreat, we still do not have a plan on budget reconciliation and our Speaker and his team have not offered one," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X Wednesday morning.

"Basically, just get started doing something. We have only been presented with the same policy and budget cut proposals that we have been presented with for a month now at all our meetings and at a full Saturday conference meeting earlier this month."

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday an initial "blueprint" would be "prepared by tomorrow, by the time we leave." 

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The budget reconciliation process allows the majority party in the House and Senate, in this case Republicans, to pass a broad-ranging conservative policy overhaul, provided the contents are relevant to the budget and other fiscal matters. It does so by lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51.

It starts with a budget resolution that includes instructions for specific committees to work toward changes to fiscal policy law under their respective jurisdictions, including topline numbers.

When asked by reporters about whether he expects those broad toplines to emerge on Wednesday morning, Johnson said, "We'll be getting to that final number. What we've emphasized with our group is that we want to have some flexibility in the how the instructions are given to the committees.

"Stay tuned for the number. It will be substantial, because it has to be. I mean, we have a $36 trillion federal debt, and we're committing that in this process. Anything we do is going to be deficit neutral, at least, or deficit-reducing," he said.

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Johnson said later in the press conference, "The objective is to, by the time we leave here today, to have a blueprint that will inform the budget committee for when they work on that budget resolution."

The details and parameters of that blueprint are not immediately clear.

By Wednesday afternoon, however, a majority of lawmakers who were staying at President Donald Trump’s golf resort in Doral, Florida, left without a sense of their next steps.

"I think the general feeling is leadership needs to make a play call and start executing on it," one House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. 

Asked about being optimistic about leaders making that call soon, the lawmaker said, "They better if they want to get this done."

Another House Republican said the meetings were "productive" but with a caveat — "as long as leadership takes our input, ideas and concerns seriously."

Other GOP lawmakers signaled they were exasperated by weeks of "listening sessions" among Republicans that have not led to specific directives from House leaders.

Some were more optimistic, however. A third House Republican told Fox News Digital, "I think Speaker Johnson has us pointed the right way and the eight committees that will make up reconciliation have a plan."

"I think it will come together," they said. 

Johnson said he was confident that the House Budget Committee would have its "blueprint" to work from when Congress is back "to the hill," which is next week.

"That's going to happen, and we'll get it through the whole chamber. And we'll be voting on that by late February," he said.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., noted that a Boy Scout proposed a policy of not taxing workers younger than age 18.

The congressman from the Bluegrass State listed several reasons why he loves the idea.

"A 15 yr old Boy Scout working on his merit badge just sent me this idea: No taxes on workers under 18 yrs old. I love it because: 1. They need experience to pick a college major 2. They need to develop a work ethic 3. The economy needs more workers 4. They don’t get to vote," Massie wrote in a post on X.

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Someone responded to the lawmaker, suggesting that youths "don’t make enough money for the most part and get it back when they file taxes. It is a good lesson on how to file taxes and gives them a chance to get a return," the person opined.

Massie replied, "Sounds like conditioning to be sheeple. Hard pass."

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., indicated that high minimum wages box young people out of the job market.

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS PUSH TO ABOLISH ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ ATF

"So many of our youth have lost the opportunity to enter the workforce due to high minimum wage requirements. High taxes, insurance, and paid leave requirements are a few of many issues as well. Small business owners are unable to invest in first-time workers or provide them with skills training for their future," she tweeted.

"Great points!" Massie replied.

He has previously suggested that the U.S. should nix the federal income tax entirely.

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"The federal income tax was unconstitutional for most of our [country's] existence. The founders of this country would have never agreed to it. We should repeal it," he tweeted in February 2024.

Massie has also spoken out against foreign aid.

"My position of ‘no foreign aid’ might sound extreme to some, but it’s far more extreme to force future generations of Americans into indentured servitude to our foreign creditors," he noted in a 2023 post.

President Donald Trump is expected to address House Republicans at their annual retreat on Monday as lawmakers work to enact his goal for a busy first 100 days of the new administration.

It’s another sign of the House GOP conference’s push for unity with Trump that the conference is being held at Trump National Doral, his golf course and resort near Miami.

"He’s going to come and address the Republicans there, and we’re looking forward to that," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., confirmed to reporters last week.

Trump has made no secret of his intent to keep a close eye on the Republican majorities in the House and Senate this year, particularly as they discuss how to use their numbers to pass a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process.

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By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they’re relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also contending with the debt ceiling being reinstated this month after it was temporarily suspended in a bipartisan deal during the Trump administration.

And coming on March 14 is the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, which Congress has extended twice since the end of the previous fiscal year on Oct. 1.

"I think obviously everyone is ready to get to work," Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. "With President Trump’s inauguration behind us, now we’re focused on the task at hand – everything from the border to the tax package, energy and defense and national security, and our debt. What we need to do over the next two years to really fulfill the agenda that we laid out for the American people."

Lawler said he anticipated reconciliation would be a key focus of Trump’s remarks.

With razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, Republicans can afford few dissenters if they are going to get to the finish line. 

REPUBLICAN SENATORS ISSUE WARNING TO HISTORIC MUSEUMS AHEAD OF PRO-LIFE MARCH 

Lawler is one of several Republicans who have drawn red lines in the discussions, vowing not to vote for a reconciliation bill that does not lift state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps – limits that have put a strain on suburban districts outside major cities.

He was realistic about setting expectations for their short Florida trip but was optimistic Republicans would eventually come together.

"I think we’re in the middle of the process and, you know, this is obviously not going to be resolved over these three days," Lawler said. "But this is, I think, an important opportunity for everyone to really sit down and spend their time going through a lot of these issues."

EXCLUSIVE: Female Republicans in Congress are fighting to change the decadeslong narrative that paints Democrats as the party of women, hoping it transcends to significant gains in future elections.

"We’ve got to get back to our roots of being the party of women," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. "I don’t know why we ever allowed the Democrats to hijack the narrative and claim to be the party of women. That’s bull."

Other GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital about this story noted that cost of living, a cornerstone issue for Republicans in the last election, was as much a women's issue as anyone else's.

Republicans have also passed several bills since winning that election that have put women at the focus of conservative policy changes on transgender youth and border security.

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"You should not let the Democrat Party tell you they’re the party of women if they can’t even define what a woman is. So we are going to continue to be strong advocates for young women and girls, whether that’s in professional spaces, in bathrooms or in sports," said Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, referencing a recently passed bill keeping biological male student athletes out of girls' sports teams and locker rooms.

Hinson said she is "a working mom fighting for other working moms."

"Women are oftentimes the most important decision makers in a household, for example. So, when I'm thinking about economic indicators, how are we going to get more women in the workforce? How can we empower more women and families? How can we support more women in sports?" Hinson posed.

Historically, Malliotakis pointed out, it was Republicans who led passage of the 19th Amendment that secured women the right to vote. She also pointed out that it was under President Donald Trump that a museum dedicated to women's history was authorized.

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"President Trump authorized in 2020 the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum. And Joe Biden did nothing with it for four years," Malliotakis said. " "I’ve been pushing a land transfer for the Smithsonian women’s museum to be built, and I think it makes total sense that we would be the party that would do this, considering our history."

As a voting bloc, women have favored Democrats and the left in recent history.

Democrats have also blamed Republicans for the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a move that did appear to translate to electoral success in the 2022 midterms.

Progressives were also historically the biggest supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment, legislation that was pushed primarily during the second-wave feminist movement.

However, Republican women like Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., are now arguing that bills like hers, which would deport illegal immigrants who commit sex crimes against women and other Americans, are what it takes to protect women.

"MAGA is the new feminist," Mace wrote on X this month.

Additionally, Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., one of the few Republican women in the 119th Congress' freshmen class, pointed out that her own story was a testament to GOP meritocracy.

"I was the largest vote-getter in my whole state out of anybody, as a woman, as the first congresswoman in our state. So I think more than anything else, people want folks who are primed for the job, who are competent and ready," Fedorchak said.

"The cost of everything, making ends meet, helping women manage their multiple roles, getting government out of their lives, helping reinforce the role of parents…these are things that are women’s issues."

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is inviting President Donald Trump to address a joint session of Congress on March 4.

SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD ROOT FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SUCCESS

In a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital, Johnson wrote to the new president, "Thanks to your strong leadership and bold action in the first days of your presidency, the United States is already experiencing a resurgence of patriotism, unity, and hope for the future."

"Your administration and the 119th Congress working together have the chance to make these next four years some of the most consequential in our nation’s history," the speaker wrote.

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"To that end, it is my distinct honor and great privilege to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, to share your America First vision for our legislative future. I eagerly await your response."

The letter comes just before Trump is expected to address House Republicans at their annual issues conference and retreat, being held this year in South Florida.

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House GOP lawmakers will be meeting at Trump’s golf course and resort in Doral for three days as they work to hash out a roadmap on government spending and plans for a major conservative policy overhaul.

Trump signaled for weeks before being sworn in that he was positioning for a very active first 100 days of his new administration.

Republicans now control both the House and Senate as well as the White House. But with razor-thin majorities in both chambers, GOP lawmakers will need to vote in near lock-step to carry out Trump’s plans.

More than 200,000 children have been abducted by Russia since the start of its invasion of Ukraine, Chairman Emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said, citing U.S. estimates.

"If a foreign adversary took 260,000 of our kids, and they were in indoctrination camps, I mean, how would we feel about that?" McCaul asked Fox News Digital.

The Texas Republican was recently term-limited in his time as chairman of the foreign affairs panel, but he is continuing to work on the world stage, in part by raising awareness about Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine. Among the most egregious is the relocation of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia, the vast majority of whom have not been returned.

Some parents would be coerced into giving up their children because Russian forces were threatening to bomb their city, McCaul said, while other times "they just invade and capture the children."

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The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in February 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, "for the war crime of unlawful deportation of [children] and that of unlawful transfer of [children] from occupied areas of Ukraine."

Lvova-Belova was sanctioned last year by the U.S. over her part in the scheme, which has been widely condemned by western governments.

However, the Kremlin has denied war crime allegations and maintained it is doing humanitarian work facilitating homes for Ukrainian children, NPR reported.

Existing accounts from returned children and elsewhere paint a picture of forced indoctrination within Russia’s borders, however. Some of those children are given military training, according to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, likely in preparation to fight on Russia’s front lines.

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Estimates on how many children have been taken to Russia vary between 20,000 to upwards of 250,000.

Part of McCaul’s work raising awareness about Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children will include a screening of a documentary titled, "Children in the Fire: Ukraine’s War Through the Children’s Eyes" by filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, at the Munich Security Conference next month.

He has also worked with the nonprofit Save Ukraine, which is working to return children.

"In the documentary, the child's brought into this prison where it looks like adults are being— basically they're using electrodes to shock them, you know, under their fingernails and their genitals, and it's just very, very barbaric," McCaul said.

He also held a hearing last year on the issue while leading the foreign affairs committee.

McCaul said Russia’s abduction of children is among the most vile of its alleged violations of the Geneva Conventions. He compared it to infamous Nazi physician Josef Mengele’s experiments on Jewish children and adults.

"It's just evil. I mean, any civilization that would capture— I mean, it's one thing if you're on the battlefield killing the enemy, from their point of view," McCaul said. "But to capture the children to re-indoctrinate them is sort of reminiscent of, you know, Mengele’s experiments on kids…And I don't think we've seen anything like this in recent society."

The House passed a resolution last year condemning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children in a bipartisan 390 to 9 vote.

"It's just horrific. I can't imagine, as a father, my children being, you know, taken away by the Russian Federation and then not knowing where they are or what's happening to them," McCaul said. "But this is all part of Putin's game, is to try to indoctrinate the children in Ukraine to go against their own country and belief system."

House Republicans are unveiling a new bill to clear a path for President Donald Trump to enact his sweeping tariff plans.

First-term Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., is reintroducing the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Friday, which, if passed, would allow Trump to unilaterally make moves on import taxes from both adversaries and allies.

He would be required to notify Congress, however, which could file a joint resolution of disapproval against the moves.

"American manufacturing has endured decades of decline under the globalist system that has hollowed out our industrial base and shipped countless jobs overseas. Leaders in both political parties deserve blame. But those days are over," Moore said in a statement.

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Moore said Trump was "the first national politician in my lifetime to recognize this problem, campaign on it, and work to reverse that trend."

"With the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act, we’ll give the executive the leverage necessary to go to bat for the American people and achieve tariff reductions on U.S. goods," he said.

Trump released a campaign video in 2023 pledging to work with Congress to pass the Reciprocal Trade Act, declaring, "Under the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act, other countries will have two choices—they’ll get rid of their tariffs on us, or they will pay us hundreds of billions of dollars, and the United States will make an absolute FORTUNE."

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This week, the president announced that he wanted to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, making good on a campaign promise to use such taxes to lower the U.S. national debt, which is currently over $36 trillion.

"We're talking about a tariff of 10% on China, based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada," Trump said Tuesday. "Probably February 1st is the date we're looking at." 

During his campaign, Trump promised to levy a 60% tariff on goods from China and as much as 20% on other countries the U.S. trades with.

He also recently pledged on Truth Social to create an "External Revenue Service" to "collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources."

Trump has praised the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act by name multiple times, including during a January 2019 meeting with House Republicans, including the bill's former lead, ex-Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis. Trump recently nominated Duffy to be secretary of Transportation.

"The United States Reciprocal Trade Act — this legislation will help, finally, to give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries. Countries are taking advantage of us, whether they think we’re very nice or not so smart.  They’ve been doing it for many, many years, and we want to end it," Trump said at the time.

However, not everyone is in agreement that tariffs are an effective way to bolster the U.S. economy, with some economists warning it would only raise costs for consumers.

"Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses," Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said while unveiling a measure to block Trump from using unilateral tariff powers by declaring a trade emergency.

There are less than two months until the next government funding deadline on March 14, and House lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned about the speed of their progress on spending talks.

"I think it’s a complete failure for us to not have a topline number," said Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. 

Congressional Republicans have been busy negotiating a massive conservative policy and budget overhaul via a process called "reconciliation," which allows the party holding both the House and Senate to enact sweeping changes by lowering the Senate's threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

But all the while, Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital are worried about falling behind on the federal appropriations process for fiscal year (FY) 2025, with no topline funding numbers to work from yet and just 19 days left in session until the deadline.

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Congress has extended the FY 2025 deadline twice since the period began Oct. 1 – most recently passing a short-term funding extension of FY 2024 funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR), in late December.

"Appropriation bills have to get done. If we end up with another CR, that would be catastrophic. That would mean, in essence, a reduction on defense [funding]," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. "But for us to start doing it, we need a topline number. But I’m optimistic we’ll get there."

If nothing is done by March 14, Congress could be forced to contend with a partial government shutdown in the middle of their reconciliation talks – and within the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term.

Other members of the committee suggested they were similarly in the dark about a topline number, but were cautiously hopeful.

"We are less than eight weeks away from the CR expiring. We need to be able to get those toplines as soon as possible and get to work," said Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. "I have full faith and confidence that Tom Cole will be able to make that happen in the next week or two."

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., has been "in consultation" with his counterparts on a towline number.

Asked about the possibility of another CR, he said, "We have several things going on at once – the reconciliation package, raising the debt ceiling, and the appropriations process. So let’s just hope for the best and deal with the worst if we have to."

Republican leaders have previously been forced to seek Democratic support to pass CRs, which normally hit a wall of opposition among a cross-section of the GOP.

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Conservative hardliners told Fox News Digital they're bracing for another CR or, worse in their eyes, a massive package combining Congress' 12 regular appropriation bills into one massive "omnibus."

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he and other conservatives were working on a bill to keep border security operations funded in the event of a government shutdown.

"We’re running out of time," he said, adding that Republicans should "probably stay in next week" instead of flying to their annual issues conference in Miami.

Rep. Keith Self, R-Fla., pointed out that House lawmakers have just over two weeks' worth of days in session to come up with a plan.

"I'm very concerned. I'm also concerned that if we screw up the CR on March the 14th, does it poison the reconciliation negotiations?" Self posed.

But not all conservatives are concerned. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., said he would be in favor of a full-year CR if "we write it properly."

"You tell me what the topline is, and I'll tell you whether I'm concerned," he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to congressional Republican leaders and the House Appropriations Committee for comment.

One of President Donald Trump's top congressional allies introduced a resolution on Thursday evening to allow the commander-in-chief a third term.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is pushing a new amendment to the Constitution that would give a president three terms in office, but no more than two consecutive four-year stints.

The amendment would say, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."

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The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, prevents a person from serving as president for more than two terms. 

It was passed by Congress in 1947 in response to Franklin Delano Roosevelt winning four terms in the White House. Roosevelt died the year after he was elected to his fourth term in the 1944 presidential election.

But in a statement released to media on Thursday, Ogles said Trump "has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal."

"To that end, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms," Ogles said. "This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs."

Trump made comments about serving a third term to House Republicans during a closed-door speech late last year, but multiple sources who attended the event told Fox News Digital that the then-president-elect was joking.

Earlier this month, Ogles unveiled a bill to authorize Trump to enter into talks to purchase Greenland after he expressed interest in doing so.

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The "Make Greenland Great Again Act" would have authorized Trump to enter negotiations with Denmark over purchasing Greenland, a territory located in North America but with longstanding cultural and geopolitical ties to Europe.

"Joe Biden took a blowtorch to our reputation these past four years, and before even taking office, President Trump is telling the world that America First is back. American economic and security interests will no longer take a backseat, and House Republicans are ready to help President Trump deliver for the American people," Ogles told Fox News Digital at the time.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would penalize doctors who do not provide life-saving care to infants born alive after an abortion attempt.

All but one Democrat voted against the bill, which passed 217 to 204, with all Republicans in favor. One Democrat, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, voted "present."

The bill directs health care practitioners to operate with the "same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence" for a baby born with a heartbeat after an abortion as during a normal birth. Doctors who run afoul of the rule would be fined or given up to five years behind bars.

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House GOP leaders lauded the bill, with Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., telling Fox News Digital, "Requiring medical care for babies born alive after a failed abortion isn’t controversial, it’s common sense."

"The fact that Democrats would rather support infanticide than vote in favor of this bill shows how extreme and out-of-touch their party has become," Emmer said.

Democrats have argued that the bill is redundant, given existing laws against infanticide and murder, and could imperil the lives of women seeking late-term abortions due to medical emergencies while unfairly penalizing doctors.

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"No one goes through pregnancy and all that comes with it…and then after eight or nine months of that is like ‘nah, I don’t want to do this,’" Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., said during debate on the bill, adding that late-term operations made up about 1% of abortions. "It is because of a serious fetal abnormality or the health of the mother."

She said the bill was "not based on science or reality."

Several Democrats who spoke out against the bill themselves went through emergency abortion procedures with a nonviable pregnancy.

Among them was Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., who said the bill would allow women to "die on the operating table because doctors are scared of going to jail."

Republicans, meanwhile, argued the bill would stop babies from being "left to die in a closet, alone and discarded like medical waste," as Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., said during debate.

"These precious babies, fellow Americans, deserve protection because they are alive," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

The vote comes after Democrats tanked the bill in the Senate earlier this week. The legislation failed to pass a procedural hurdle that needed 60 votes to allow for debate on its final passage.

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican and a Democrat are banding together to break up the centralized power structure in Washington, D.C., with a new bill moving federal agencies to other parts of the country.

Reps. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, and Jared Golden, D-Maine, are introducing a bill Tuesday to relocate certain U.S. government offices elsewhere in the country's 50 states, Fox News Digital was told. 

Exceptions would be made for national security-focused agencies like the Department of Justice, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy and the State Department.

For other agencies, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Interior, for example, the legislation would block new and old leases as well as major renovation permits, forcing them to look outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for new space.

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It would then establish a "competitive bidding process" for other states to lease their land to the federal government, according to the bill text.

Hinson argued it would transfer such agencies and offices to states that rely on their services most.

"Moving federal agencies out of Washington and closer to the people most impacted will ensure that federal bureaucrats who have never left DC aren’t issuing out-of-touch mandates that disproportionately harm working families, small businesses, and our farmers who feed and fuel the world," she told Fox News Digital.

Hinson added there was "no valid reason" for USDA to operate in Washington, D.C., when it could be in her home state of Iowa, for example.

Golden, also referencing industry in his home state of Maine, told Fox News Digital, "No one knows better than fishermen what it takes to make a living on the water, or the threat that new regulations from far away can pose not only to their livelihoods but to their entire community or region."

"Redistributing federal agencies and jobs around the country would bring the government closer to the people, ensure regulators are embedded in the communities that thrive or struggle based on their rulings and bring good-paying jobs out of the beltway and into communities across the country," he said.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who has introduced a counterpart bill in the Senate, said the legislation was aimed at "reining in the administrative state that has run unchecked at the taxpayer’s expense." 

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It is not immediately clear what the effects would be on job levels in Washington, D.C., where the federal government is the largest employer. It is also unclear what the overall costs could be of transferring agencies.

However, the lawmakers argued that it would ultimately save taxpayer dollars by conducting necessary oversight over federal leases, at a time when some spaces are still sitting largely unused due to remote work policies left over from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill would also direct the federal government to use funds from the sale of any federal land or building to offset relocation costs.

Republican lawmakers are jubilant after President Trump was sworn in for a second term on Monday, followed by a speech promising massive policy changes in the U.S.

"President Trump’s speech was a breath of fresh aid for Americans – he will bring down costs, close the southern border, deport illegal immigrants, bring back free speech, and unleash American energy dominance," House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital. "The Golden Age of America begins today."

House GOP leaders, meanwhile, reaffirmed their promise to execute Trump’s policies as quickly as possible, with the commander in chief angling for an active first 100 days in office beginning with a sweeping set of executive orders.

"This is America’s moment of redemption, and under President Trump’s leadership, our nation will usher in a new Golden Age," said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. "House Republicans are fully committed to making his America First vision a reality and are ready to hit the ground running on day one."

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., meanwhile, hailed Trump’s address as "a powerful speech outlining his vision for an America that’s safe, strong, free, and full of opportunity."

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., chair of the House GOP Policy Committee, compared Trump’s inauguration to former President Ronald Reagan’s in 1985 – which was also held indoors. 

"Like Reagan, who ushered in a renaissance of American greatness, President Trump’s inauguration marks the beginning of a new golden age in America. His vision and leadership will secure a brighter future for our nation. Today, we witness the dawn of a new era," Hern said.

Like Trump, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called for legislative action to begin without delay. He said, "Today is a day for celebration, but our work begins immediately. There is no room for excuses. Congress must work with the president to deliver fully, not partially. I stand ready and resolved."

Meanwhile, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, urged Congress to now work with Trump "to pass the Farm Bill, extend the Trump Tax Cuts, lock down our border, end the electric vehicle mandates, support our small businesses, and lower costs for our families and farmers."

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Several of those goals were also mentioned by Trump himself during his inaugural speech in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

"I will direct all members of my Cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation, and rapidly bring down costs and prices. The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices. And that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill," Trump said.

"With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers."

He also repeated promises to crack down on crime at the border as well as target foreign nations with high tariffs as a means to bring down the deficit.

Trump later gave roughly half an hour’s worth of further remarks in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall. 

The second speech, more freewheeling than his first, saw Trump criticize his predecessor, former President Biden, for issuing pardons to members of the former House Select Committee on Jan. 6 and others, like retired Gen. Mark Milley.

"We're going to turn our country around, and we're going to turn it around fast. And I think it was a better speech than the one I made upstairs," Trump joked in those remarks.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Friday recounted a meeting with President Biden from early last year when the president appeared to forget he signed an executive order pausing the export of liquified natural gas (LNG).

Johnson publicly recalled the story for the first time to Bari Weiss during an episode of her podcast "Honestly" for The Free Press after saying that through his "personal observation" in dealing with Biden, the president "has not been in charge for some time." Johnson’s story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in June, though the newspaper’s reporting relied on anonymous sources at the time.

When Weiss asked Johnson to elaborate on his observations, the speaker began his tale of how Biden’s staff kept brushing off his attempts to schedule a meeting with the president in January 2024 amid "big national concerns" that Johnson said he "was losing sleep over."

Johnson said that Biden’s staff finally relented after some pressure from the media and invited him to the Oval Office to meet with the president. Johnson, however, said the meeting did not start as expected.

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"I show up and I realize it's actually an ambush 'cause it's not just me and the president," Johnson said. "It's also Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem, you know, The CIA Director."

Johnson said the group began to "hot box" him on Ukraine funding when Biden asked if he could have the room with him, a request that Johnson said left the president’s staff visibly concerned.

Once Biden and Johnson were alone in the Oval Office, the speaker asked the president about his pause on LNG exports. 

"I cannot answer this from my constituents in Louisiana," Johnson recalled telling Biden. "Sir, why did you pause LNG exports to Europe? Liquefied natural gas is in great demand by our allies. Why would you do that? Cause you understand we just talked about Ukraine, you understand you are fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine, because they gotta get their gas from him."

Johnson recounted how a stunned Biden replied: "I didn’t do that."

Biden initiated a pause on new LNG export permits in January 2024, a move which has been widely criticized by the oil community and bipartisan lawmakers in the House.

Johnson said that when he reminded the president of the executive order he had signed just weeks ago, Biden denied that what he had signed was a pause on LNG.

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Johnson said he argued that the pause would do "massive damage to our economy, national security," and he even suggested that the president’s secretary print out a copy of the order so that the two of them could read it together.

"He genuinely did not know what he had signed," Johnson said. "And I walked out of that meeting with fear and loathing because I thought, ‘We are in serious trouble—who is running the country?’ Like, I don't know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn’t know."

Biden’s LNG pause threatens nearly 1 million jobs over the next two decades if the restriction remains in place, according to a study by the National Association of Manufacturers, which Fox News Digital previously reported on.

The export ban would stifle the U.S. GDP by between $122.5 billion and $215.7 billion in 2044, while between $26.9 billion and $47.7 billion in tax and royalty revenues to federal, state and local governments would be at risk in 2044 if the permit pause persists, the study found.

President-elect Trump, however, reportedly "plans to go strong on the issue" of LNG exports when he assumes office, sources told Reuters in November.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

Fox News has learned that House and Senate offices are growing increasingly frustrated about who may be allowed to attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration inside the Capitol Rotunda Monday.

Fox is told that member offices were asked to "resubmit" paperwork about whether a lawmaker wants to attend and if the lawmaker's spouse wants to attend. However, there are no "plus-ones." And Fox was told the attendance of spouses could be "iffy." 

One lawmaker said members were trying to get governors or other state officials into the Capitol Rotunda. But it was far from clear if officials could accommodate those requests.

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There is an effort to get a small group of people into the Capitol Rotunda who were slated to be seated down in front but were not House and Senate members. One official refused to identify to Fox who those with "special status" could be.

This likely means very few dignitaries or others are allowed inside for the inauguration. One Trump-supporting lawmaker was "happy" it was moving inside so the lawmaker didn’t have to sit outside in the cold "for an hour-and-a-half." The lawmaker also noted that House members would likely have had the most uncomfortable experience had the inauguration been outside. That’s because of the way the wind blows across the platform and where House members were to be seated on the West Front.

One lawmaker told Fox about having 700 people traveling to Washington for the inauguration, and now none of them would be seated anywhere. But the lawmaker had "not heard one complaint" from people traveling to see the inauguration in person who now can’t.

President Reagan’s 1985 inauguration, moved inside because of extreme cold and a temperature of 7 degrees, accommodated a crowd of 1,000 in the Capitol Rotunda. Fox colleague Aishah Hasnie reports the grand total allowed inside the Capitol Rotunda for this inauguration will likely be 600. In addition, Fox is told that "600 is pushing it" due to fire concerns. One source says the figure may be closer to 500 before all is said and done.

TRUMP TO BE INAUGURATED INSIDE: LAST CEREMONY HELD INDOORS WAS REAGAN'S IN 1985

Fox is told that there were concrete plans for inaugurations in 2017 and 2021 to move ceremonies indoors. Officials even rehearsed those scenarios. In addition, Fox is told there was serious discussion about moving the 2017 inauguration inside because of rain and concern about umbrellas.

While the weather is the primary reason for moving the inauguration indoors, multiple sources close to the planning of the event have expressed concerns about security. 

"My Spidey senses are up," said one lawmaker who asked not to be identified and is steeped in the planning of this event. But when Fox pressed various lawmakers and other sources, no one could identify a specific threat.

That said, more than one lawmaker contacted by Fox noted there were multiple outdoor events with the President-elect prior to the July assassination attempt, and every other event since has been indoors.

Fox is told that security officials will erect what was described as a "geo-fence" around the Capitol to interfere and jam nefarious communications and/or drones. At one point, there was talk of shutting off all cell communications during the time period when President-elect Trump was on the platform.

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That said, a forecast of about four inches of snow in Washington Sunday night began to change thinking around this year’s inauguration. There is genuine concern about thousands of people on the National Mall standing in cold, fresh snow for hours. There was worry about emergency personnel being able to reach those who may have medical emergencies while on the National Mall because of the inclement weather. Another issue is how snow that melted today could refreeze, creating significantly slick surfaces around the Capitol.

And then there is another factor: snowball fights.

One senior source tells Fox there was actual discussion about snowball fights interfering with the event if Washington got a fresh coating of snow. One source said planners worried it could "get out of hand" and could contribute to injuries.

Inside or out, this could be the snowiest inauguration since the swearing-in day was moved to Jan. 20 in 1937. The previous record for snow on inauguration day came in 1961, for the swearing-in of President John F. Kennedy. Washington received seven-tenths of an inch of snow that day.

And considering the weather, perhaps it was only appropriate that the poet Robert Frost spoke at JFK’s inauguration.

House Democrats are trying to block President-elect Donald Trump from implementing his wide-ranging tariff plans just days before he is set to take office.

A new bill led by Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., and backed by 11 other Democrats, would block Trump from using presidential emergency powers to roll out higher import taxes.

During his campaign, Trump promised to levy a 60% tariff on goods from China and as much as 20% on other countries the U.S. trades with.

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He most recently pledged on Truth Social to create an "External Revenue Service" to "collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources."

Trump and his allies have argued that the plan would bolster American manufacturing while making it more difficult for adversaries like China to "export their way out of their current economic malaise," as Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent told senators this week.

In theory, the commander in chief is able to bypass Congress to impose sweeping tariffs by declaring an emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

However, Democrats argue the cost of the tariffs would just be passed on to American consumers.

"The American people have clearly and consistently said that the high cost of living is one of their top concerns," DelBene said in a statement. "Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses."

Beyer said, "Trump’s tariff proposals would misuse emergency authorities to raise prices on the American people, which is unacceptable."

However, not all Democrats have rejected the plan.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, a moderate Democrat known to often break from his own party, introduced his own bill this week to impose a universal 10% tariff on all imports.

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The 10% level would be reassessed each year, with room for a 5% increase or decrease depending on current U.S. economic conditions.

He argued in a statement to the Maine Morning Star, "The universal tariff — along with other policies to support domestic energy production, unions and manufacturing — is designed to reorient our economy from one focused on cheap goods and consumption to one centered on production and innovation."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment on both bills.

House Judiciary Democrats penned a letter Wednesday asking outgoing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges against President-elect Donald Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case. 

They want Trump's valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, to walk from the charges so that Garland can release the second volume, which is related to the classified documents case, of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report. Smith resigned from the Justice Department on Friday. Garland said he will not release the second volume because both men still face prosecution. 

In their letter, the Democrats said they believe that Trump will pardon both men, so Garland should drop the charges now or the report will not come out. 

"While we understand your honorable and steadfast adherence to Mr. Nauta’s and Mr. De Oliveira’s due process rights as criminal defendants, the practical effect of this position is that Volume 2 will almost certainly remain concealed for at least four more years if you do not release it before President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20," the letter obtained by Fox News says. 

"The public interest, however, now demands that the President-elect must not escape accountability to the American people," they added. "Accordingly, to the extent the tangential charges against Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira stand in the way of the overriding imperative of transparency and truth, the interests of justice demand that their cases be dismissed now so that the entirety of Special Counsel Smith’s report can be released to the American people."

FORMER TRUMP CO-DEFENDANTS WANT JUDGE TO BLOCK SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH REPORT

Garland's spokesperson, Xochitl Hinojosa, told Fox News on Thursday that the charges would remain in place. 

"The department stands by its case and is not dropping the charges it seeks to pursue against the remaining defendants," Hinojosa said. 

The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, as well as Democratic committee members Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman of New York; Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, J. Luis Correa, Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Zoe Lofgren of California; Hank Johnson and Lucy McBath of Georgia; Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Pramila Jayapal of Washington; Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania; Joseph Neguse of Colorado; Deborah Ross of North Carolina; Becca Balint of Vermont; Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia of Illinois; and Jasmine Crockett of Missouri. 

"We obviously do not condone the sycophantic, delinquent, and criminal behavior that Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira are charged with," the letter says. "However, Donald Trump was plainly the mastermind of this deception operation to conceal and abuse classified material, a fact made clear by his being charged with 32 counts of willfully retaining these classified documents, while his co-defendants were charged with lesser offenses related to obstructing the investigation, largely at Mr. Trump’s direction. By virtue of DOJ policy prohibiting the indictment or prosecution of a sitting president, Mr. Trump has dodged any criminal accountability for his own wrongdoing. Mr. Trump’s 2024 victory saved him from a public trial and robbed the American people of the opportunity to learn the meaning and details of his unpatriotic, reckless, and intentional abuse of national security information." 

DOJ RELEASES FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH'S REPORT ON INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

Judge Aileen Cannon will hear arguments over Volume 2 in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Thursday. Garland released Volume 1, focused on the election interference case, earlier this week. 

Attorneys for Nauta and De Oliveira earlier this month asked Cannon to keep the special counsel report out of the public eye. 

Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira all pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. 

Smith was tapped by Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump's keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence. 

It is customary for a special counsel to release a final report when his or her work is done, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached as a result of the probe. It's up to Garland whether to release it publicly. In Smith's case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump's status as president-elect and longstanding Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. 

Garland is expected to give his farewell address to the Justice Department on Thursday afternoon.

President-elect Trump's top aide on immigration and the border spoke with House Republicans during a roughly hour-long meeting Wednesday.

Lawmakers who left the room hailed Stephen Miller, who was tapped to be U.S. Homeland Security adviser in the new Trump administration, as a brilliant policy mind.

Two sources present for the discussions told Fox News Digital Miller talked about the need to scale up the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workforce, which is noteworthy given Trump's promise to execute mass deportations when he returns to office.

Miller also discussed ways to cut federal funds going toward sanctuary cities and states, a cash flow that Republicans had previously promised to target if they were to control the levers of power in Washington.

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The strategy meeting comes as congressional Republicans are preparing for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass broad policy changes — provided they deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.

The sources told Fox News Digital Miller's portion of the meeting partly focused on what border and immigration policies could go into a reconciliation package and what kind of funding Congress would need to appropriate. 

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The sources said Miller told Republicans the incoming Trump administration understood the president-elect's border and immigration goals were "probably not going to get a lot" of Democratic votes and that "those more controversial things would need to be in reconciliation." More bipartisan initiatives could be passed during the regular process, the sources added. 

A House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital of an understanding that Congress would follow Trump's lead.

"I think we're going to see a slew of executive orders early, and that is going to be helpful to separate from what we have to do legislatively," the lawmaker said.

One source in the room said Miller emphasized the importance of messaging, adding that "nothing matters if we don't get our message out to the American people."

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital Miller discussed "low-hanging fruit" that Trump could tackle by executive order, mentioning "deportation" as a possibility.

"Tax stuff, that's going to take some time," Norman said.

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., declined to go into specifics about the meeting but told Fox News Digital the discussion focused on "illegal immigration and how that's going to be curbed … to bring commonsense solutions to the program."

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"I had a couple of questions about the cost to American taxpayers if we don't repatriate some 12 million illegal aliens who the Biden administration has let into our country," Alford said.

Miller declined to answer reporters' questions when he left the room.

He was invited to address the Republican Study Committee led by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the House GOP's largest caucus, which acts as a conservative think tank of sorts for the rest of the House Republican Conference. 

Pfluger told Fox News Digital in a statement after the meeting, "The Republican Study Committee is in lockstep with the incoming Trump administration. We are committed to working around the clock to deliver on the promises we made to the American people, especially when it comes to securing our border and enforcing immigration policies."

"We will continue to work with Stephen Miller and his team to deliver the legislative victories they need from the House."

House GOP leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were not in attendance, nor were they expected.

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the group's previous chairman, said there was "nothing new" said during the meeting, adding it was an opportunity for Trump's aides to address the House GOP.

Trump and his aides have already paid heavy attention to congressional Republicans. 

Several of his incoming White House aides are in regular contact with top GOP lawmakers. Trump personally invited several groups of House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago last weekend.