President Trump and first lady Melania Trump are hosting the annual congressional picnic on the White House’s South Lawn Thursday evening.
The informal gathering brings in members of the executive and legislative branches, along with their families, in a celebration across party lines.
Tension around Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending package, however, threatened to upend the event after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) claimed they were uninvited to the event because of their apprehension to the GOP megabill.
The president said Thursday Paul was in fact invited, calling him the “toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate” and said he would give him some time to win him over. He did not respond to Massie’s claims.
The event was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. EDT.
Watch coverage of the president’s comments above.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
