Trump is set to speak with the Business Roundtable later today, a group of more than 200 of the top corporate CEOs and one of the most powerful business lobbying groups in D.C.
The groupās CEO members have been vocal opponents of Trumpās sweeping tariffs dating back to his first administration.
Today is one of the groupās quarterly meetings and comes at a critical time for the economy as the stock market continues its fall. The meeting is private, with no press, and is intended to provide an open dialogue among the business leaders, and in this case, the president.
The group laid out itsĀ objectives in a statementĀ last week ahead of Trumpās address to Congress, including its opposition to sweeping tariffs.
āBusiness Roundtable supports the Presidentās goals of strengthening border security and restricting the flow of fentanyl into the country,” the statement said. “As the work to further restrict the flow of fentanyl continues, we urge negotiators to redouble efforts to secure a path forward that swiftly removes the recently implemented tariffs. These tariffs, especially if they are long-lasting, run the risk of creating serious economic impact.ā
Trump turned heads last summer when he flew to Washington to meet with the group just a week after a jury in New York found him guilty on state felony charges for the falsification of business records.Ā
The president has hadĀ tensionĀ with many of the CEOs in the group over the years. Ā While it cheered on Trumpās tax cuts during the first administration, the group took issue with the presidentās tariffs on Chinese products.Ā
Several of its members alsoĀ resignedĀ in 2017 from the White Houseās business advisory councils following the white nationalist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia.Ā
The current chair of the Business Roundtable, Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco,Ā said at the timeĀ that āit is incomprehensible that weāre having this conversation in 2017ā and that his company denounced āracism, discrimination, neo-Nazism, white supremacy.ā
After the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the business group condemned the attack and called on Trump to āput an end to the chaos and to facilitate the peaceful transition of power.āĀ Ā
Members of the group include Tim Cook of Apple, Mary Barra of General Motors, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Steve Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group, Harvey Schwartz of the Carlyle Group, John Stankey of AT&T and Mike Wirth of Chevron.Ā
According to an official with the Business Roundtable, the groupās quarterly meeting attracts about half of its total CEO members and always has a standing invitation to the president of the United States.