U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in a Fostering the Future announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., August 20, 2026. REUTERS/Tierney Cross
President Donald Trump has invited a group of Republican lawmakers — including several running in the cycle's most competitive races — to a private dinner at the White House on Wednesday night as those same members plead with him to finally open his roughly $400 million war chest before November, Politico reported.
Citing five people with direct knowledge, Politico said the Rose Garden dinner comes as anxious Republicans press Trump to start spending to defend their narrow congressional majorities. Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden confirmed he'd attend.
"Of course," he told the outlet.
Others invited and planning to go include Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) and Georgia Senate nominee Rep. Mike Collins, among at least several dozen lawmakers.
The dinner lands at a fraught moment for Republicans facing electoral headwinds over the war in Iran, high gas prices and new tariffs. Incumbents are desperate for help to counter Democratic attacks over the cost of living, but Trump's political operation, MAGA Inc., has spent little of its massive war chest on GOP candidates even as he keeps growing the pile.
His group spent more than $800,000 on calls and texts to help push Sen. Darline Graham over the line in her South Carolina primary, per Politico, while Senate Republicans wait for him to bankroll the embattled Ken Paxton in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico has outspent him on the airwaves.
The dinner also comes a week before the GOP's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, a Sept. 9-10 event dubbed "Trumpapalooza," and one that dozens of vulnerable Republicans are quietly skipping. That includes Barrett, who said he'd campaign and be with family instead.
The same day as the dinner, Trump's operation is rolling out its first major general-election ad buy: a nearly $1 million national TV run, per Politico, including a spot starring UFC boss Dana White.