Many Senate Republicans were done with Trump after Jan. 6. Now they want him back in the White House

By MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — After the 2020 election, many Republican senators distanced themselves from Donald Trump. Many were certain his political future was over. But it wasn’t. The former president is now the party’s presumptive nominee to challenge President Joe Biden. And on Thursday, he returned to Capitol Hill to meet with Republicans, the first such official meetings since his presidency. He arrived to enthusiastic and near-unanimous support from the Senate GOP conference, including many of the same senators who condemned him for his actions as he tried to block Biden’s legitimate victory. The hard feelings and any memories of the violent end to his presidency seemed to have faded completely.