Two and a half years after he incited a deadly riot at the US Capitol and two weeks to the day since a jury in New York found him guilty on 34 counts, former president Donald Trump will be welcomed to Capitol Hill as the leader of the Republican Party.
When Trump first became the Republican presidential nominee the first time around, most Republicans on Capitol Hill feigned ignorance. Many said they would “support but would not endorse the nominee” when asked, conspicuously avoiding saying Trump’s name. When Trump won the presidency, many Republicans — like then-House speaker Paul Ryan — would tell reporters they hadn’t seen his tweets. And for a while after the January 6 riot, a brief moment existed where Republicans might have made Trump persona non grata.
