Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Meets With Jubilant House GOP and Jokes About a Third Term
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 2 months ago on
November 13, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump addresses House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

President-elect Donald Trump addressed jubilant House Republicans on Wednesday morning, delivering triumphant remarks centered around his own electoral victory and drawing laughter when he hinted that they could pave the way for him to serve a third term in office.

Fresh off elections that put them on track to reclaim the House majority, Republicans greeted Trump with a standing ovation in a closed-door meeting in a hotel near the Capitol. It came just before his meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

“Isn’t it nice to win?” Trump asked to raucous applause.

Trump Jokes About Third Term

He later added: “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out.’” (The Constitution limits presidents to two terms, though Trump has mused before about circumventing that restriction.)

Trump, who has so far tapped two House Republican lawmakers to serve in his Cabinet, depleting the party’s already narrow expected margin of control, also ribbed the group about wanting “15 members” from their ranks to serve in his administration. He promised he would stagger the appointments, taking only a few at a time. Republicans are now on track to have a single-digit majority in the House that could make it extraordinarily difficult for their leaders to accomplish anything.

During the meeting, Trump offered his support for Speaker Mike Johnson, who is expected to be renominated as the top Republican in the House later Wednesday, saying he was “with him all the way.”

Joining him at the meeting was Elon Musk, the billionaire who has ascended to a position of wide-ranging influence in Trump’s transition and Tuesday was given the task of leading an effort to make the government smaller and more efficient. Musk sat in the front row among the lawmakers and next to Johnson’s wife. He received a standing ovation when Trump complimented him.

Trump later joked that Musk, who has become a ubiquitous presence around the president-elect, just wouldn’t go away, according to lawmakers who attended.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Catie Edmondson, Karoun Demirjian and Maya C. Miller/Eric Lee
c. 2024 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Trump Issues Sweeping Pardon of Supporters Charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

DON'T MISS

Thousands in Downtown Fresno to Celebrate MLK Jr. in Annual March

DON'T MISS

What Does the Future Hold for Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford?

DON'T MISS

Madera County Crash Claims One Life, Hospitalizes Other Driver

DON'T MISS

Bears Hire Lions’ Offensive Guru Ben Johnson as Their Head Coach

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Giving Trump the First Member of His Cabinet

DON'T MISS

Musk Is Likely to Get a West Wing Office for His Cost-Cutting Project

DON'T MISS

Town Hall Speaker Will Reveal How Zipline Drone Delivery Is Saving Lives

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Ignites Online Speculation Over the Meaning of a Hand Gesture

DON'T MISS

Canada Relieved Trump Doesn’t Impose Tariffs on the Major US Trading Partner on First Day

UP NEXT

Thousands in Downtown Fresno to Celebrate MLK Jr. in Annual March

UP NEXT

What Does the Future Hold for Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford?

UP NEXT

Madera County Crash Claims One Life, Hospitalizes Other Driver

UP NEXT

Bears Hire Lions’ Offensive Guru Ben Johnson as Their Head Coach

UP NEXT

Senate Confirms Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Giving Trump the First Member of His Cabinet

UP NEXT

Musk Is Likely to Get a West Wing Office for His Cost-Cutting Project

UP NEXT

Town Hall Speaker Will Reveal How Zipline Drone Delivery Is Saving Lives

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Ignites Online Speculation Over the Meaning of a Hand Gesture

UP NEXT

Canada Relieved Trump Doesn’t Impose Tariffs on the Major US Trading Partner on First Day

UP NEXT

Gusty Winds, Extreme Fire Weather Return to Southern California

Madera County Crash Claims One Life, Hospitalizes Other Driver

11 hours ago

Bears Hire Lions’ Offensive Guru Ben Johnson as Their Head Coach

11 hours ago

Senate Confirms Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Giving Trump the First Member of His Cabinet

11 hours ago

Musk Is Likely to Get a West Wing Office for His Cost-Cutting Project

11 hours ago

Town Hall Speaker Will Reveal How Zipline Drone Delivery Is Saving Lives

11 hours ago

Elon Musk Ignites Online Speculation Over the Meaning of a Hand Gesture

12 hours ago

Canada Relieved Trump Doesn’t Impose Tariffs on the Major US Trading Partner on First Day

12 hours ago

Gusty Winds, Extreme Fire Weather Return to Southern California

12 hours ago

Ramaswamy Won’t Serve on Trump’s Government Efficiency Commission, Eyes Ohio Governor Run

13 hours ago

Fresno Protesters Rally Against Deportations on Heels of Trump Inauguration

13 hours ago

Trump Issues Sweeping Pardon of Supporters Charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday said he was pardoning about 1,500 of his supporters who have been charged in the Jan. 6, 2021,...

10 hours ago

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order commuting sentences for people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
10 hours ago

Trump Issues Sweeping Pardon of Supporters Charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

MLK Jr. March in Downtown Fresno. January 20, 2025. (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)
10 hours ago

Thousands in Downtown Fresno to Celebrate MLK Jr. in Annual March

10 hours ago

What Does the Future Hold for Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford?

A fatal crash on State Route 41 near Road 209 claimed one life and injured another on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (CHP)
11 hours ago

Madera County Crash Claims One Life, Hospitalizes Other Driver

Ben Johnson
11 hours ago

Bears Hire Lions’ Offensive Guru Ben Johnson as Their Head Coach

Photo of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., left, accompanied by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, right
11 hours ago

Senate Confirms Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Giving Trump the First Member of His Cabinet

11 hours ago

Musk Is Likely to Get a West Wing Office for His Cost-Cutting Project

11 hours ago

Town Hall Speaker Will Reveal How Zipline Drone Delivery Is Saving Lives

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend