WASHINGTON Former President Donald Trump made his first visit to Capitol Hill on Thursday since a rioting mob of his supporters mounted an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump, now a convicted felon , is huddling with GOP lawmakers at their campaign headquarters on both sides of the Capitol complex. His meetings mark his triumphant return to the top of the Republican Party after the violent attempt to steal the 2020 election briefly made him a pariah.

Some Republicans, namely those who previously voted to impeach Trump and remove him from office, skipped the meetings. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who denounced Trump for the riot more forcefully than any other GOP leader, intends to pay his respects.

Hes earned the nomination, McConnell said Wednesday, reiterating his support for Trump as the GOP presidential nominee, despite the fact that they havent spoken since the 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Trumps allies described the meetings as a chance to unify and strategize on their plans to recapture the Senate and White House. Already, they are discussing a new round of tax cuts and a wave of deregulation should they succeed.

I think we all are on the same team and we need to be united as we move into the fall, said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).

Trump is not expected to enter the Capitol proper on Thursday, but he is visiting Republican campaign headquarters adjacent to the Capitol campus. The twice-impeached former president was near the Capitol last summer when he was arraigned at a federal courthouse in downtown D.C. in his election subversion case.

Over the weekend, Trump falsely called the Jan. 6 insurrection a setup by police.