MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President-elect Donald Trump also visited Capitol Hill last night to pay his respects to former President Jimmy Carter.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And he also met with Republicans to talk about strategizing for legislation.
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DONALD TRUMP: We're going to get something done that's going to be reducing taxes and creating a lot of jobs and all of the other things that you know about. But this was a really unified meeting.
INSKEEP: So he says. But is there a path ahead?
MARTIN: So here to tell us all about this is NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt. Barbara, good morning to you.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So Barbara, he met with the senators - Republican senators. What were the senators hoping for in that meeting?
SPRUNT: Well, the goal was to decide on a strategy to advance Trump's agenda on border security and tax cuts. There's been a lot of questions about how Republicans, who will have unified government in two weeks, are going to accomplish those things. Trump said earlier that he wants, in his words, one big, beautiful bill for everything. And that's in line with what the house speaker, Mike Johnson, wants. But on the Senate side, there's interest in a two-bill approach - one that would tackle the border, the other on taxes. Now, both strategies would use a tool in the budget process to avoid a filibuster from Democrats in the Senate. But there was hope from many GOP lawmakers that Trump would put his thumb on the scale as to which option he wants to see implemented.
MARTIN: Interesting. So that's what they wanted. Did they get it?
SPRUNT: No, not quite. It was a fairly long meeting, almost two hours. And those of us waiting outside the meeting heard lots of applause throughout, so a sign of good progress. And I'm told that people asked a good number of questions in the meeting. But bottom line, Trump came out and said he just isn't too concerned with process.
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TRUMP: We had a great meeting. There's great unity. Whether it's one-bill or two-bill, it's going to get done one way or the other. I think there's a lot of talk about two, and there's a lot of talk about one. But it doesn't matter. The end result is the same.
SPRUNT: Senate Majority Leader John Thune spoke to reporters once Trump left and didn't commit to one particular path.
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JOHN THUNE: We're in - all in line with getting the result. And the process arguments that we have around here, I think, are a lot less important - certainly to the people across the country - than accomplishing the things I just mentioned.
SPRUNT: He called it an ongoing conversation.
MARTIN: So what about that? Why does it matter if Trump signs off on a strategy?
SPRUNT: Well, I think there's a desire for Trump to have a strong preference early on to be a kind of organizing force. It wasn't that long ago that he sort of threw a wrench in House Republicans' efforts to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government. He made demands at the last minute. And members at the time told me, like, gee, I wish he had told us this earlier. So it's not out of character for Trump to make demands at inconvenient moments for members. And that can really upend negotiations when lawmakers think that they're on the same page and forging ahead. And how they all act - the House, the Senate and the White House - in the very early stages of the administration is going to be important, and it can set a tone for how they work together going forward.
MARTIN: That is NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt. Barbara, thank you.
SPRUNT: Thank you.
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