President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to deliver remarks on the U.S. economy and affordability at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9, 2025. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
The meeting was held as the GOP works to defend their control of the Senate and their razor-thin House majority in November's midterms. Republicans are facing traditional political headwinds in the midterms, when the party in power usually loses House and Senate seats.
Republicans are also dealing with the president's continued underwater approval ratings, and a slew of surveys, including the latest Fox News polling, that indicates Americans are pessimistic about the economy and say that things have not improved in the year since Trump returned to the White House.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING
Meanwhile, Democrats have scored a series of ballot box victories and overperformances in off-year elections and special elections during Trump's second administration, thanks to their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation.
President Donald Trump takes the stage to speak during a rally at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa, on Jan. 27. The president spotlighted his administration's efforts to lower prices. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump wasn't at the meeting, according to sources. But he's expected to spotlight the economy and his administration's achievements when he holds a political event Thursday in battleground Georgia, which is holding key elections for the Senate and governor this year.
IMMIGRATION ONCE FUELED TRUMP’S 2024 WIN — NOW SAGGING APPROVAL TESTS GOP GRIP ON CONGRESS
And the president will have an even bigger spotlight next week, when he delivers the annual State of the Union address.
Vice President JD Vance offered a taste of the messaging in an interview Tuesday on Fox News' "The Story."
Pointing to former President Joe Biden's administration, Vance argued, "We're still digging out of the hole the Democrats put us in. And I think the question we're going to put to the American people is, do you want to give the government back over to the people who, frankly, burned down the house and made most Americans much less wealthy and much less safe? Or do you want to double down on the president's leadership."
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Tuesday evening meeting took place at the Capitol Hill Club, a private venue popular among political insiders that's located next to the Republican National Committee's headquarters, a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.
Besides messaging, sources say the meeting also focused on polling and the 2026 electoral map, with top Trump political aides walking those attending the gathering through new data on key midterm battlegrounds. And they also emphasized the importance of Cabinet officials hitting the trail as key surrogates to sell the president's agenda.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/strategy-session-trumps-team-huddles-midterm-messaging-spotlight-economy