Wednesday’s Hill Nation Summit was packed with lawmakers and major figures on both sides of the aisle, and made clear that President Trump has an iron grip on the Republican Party.

Republican speakers were notably deferential to and confident in Trump, while Democrats struggling to coalesce around a strategy to come back from their crushing 2024 defeat outlined their own ideas.

Here are five takeaways from the summit.

Trump is king for GOP

Six months into Trump’s second term, it is clear that his grip on other Republicans is the strongest it’s ever been.

Republicans at the Hill Nation Summit gave the president high marks for his term so far — and resisted any hint at criticism.

Rep. John James (R-Mich.), who is running for governor, declined to criticize Trump’s tariffs despite representing an area heavily dependent on auto manufacturing.

“I have every reason to believe, when I talk to people in my district who are saying, ‘We’re getting more business than we’ve ever gotten before’ … that’s a result of President Trump, a businessman who knows what he’s doing,” James said.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said there was a “huge distinction” between former President Biden’s policies around social media and Trump’s pressure campaign on major law firms.

“It’s not censorship,” Jordan said, arguing that the firms were not directed to take down particular posts or speech from their websites.

House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said that the pressure Trump exerts on members is actually helpful to help unify Republicans in Congress.

“I think too often we’re all carrot and no stick. And I think in life in general, and in business, to many audience members, I think you have to have equal parts carrot and stick, and that’s generally the best way to incentivize the outcomes and the behavior we want,” Arrington said.

Trump is winning, and his first six months back in office have underscored his willingness to hit back hard at his opponents in either party.

The remarks from Republicans on Wednesday suggested they like the winning. But Republicans also aren’t interested, for the most part, in getting on the president’s bad side.

Powell’s future hangs over event

Did we just say something about staying on Trump’s good side?

One person who isn’t on his good side is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is under a severe pressure campaign from the president.

In the first hour of the confab, Peter Navarro, the White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, unloaded on Powell at the summit, labeling him the “worst Fed chair in history” — without, notably, calling for his ouster.

"All I want is a Fed chair who........

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