President Donald Trump, flanked by North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (left) and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin are both moderate Democrats who are up for reelection next year in states the president won handily in 2016. Continuing to court Democrats, Trump will host dinner on tax reform

President Donald Trump will host a dinner on Tuesday with moderate Democrats and Republican senators focused on tax reform as he continues to court Democrats after cutting a debt ceiling deal last week.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will host the dinner on Tuesday evening, the White House said. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana have been invited and are expected to attend, aides said. GOP Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Orrin Hatch of Utah and John Thune of South Dakota are among the Republican attendees.


The dinner is expected to center on tax reform, the aides said, now Trump's top priority.

The three moderate Democrats are all up for reelection next year in states Trump won handily in 2016. They also have been closer to the president than other congressional Democrats. Each declined to join a letter with party leaders outlining conditions on tax reform and all three supported Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch earlier this year.

Trump appeared onstage with Heitkamp last week at a tax reform event in North Dakota, and the president called her a "good woman" and said he hopes to have her support. Trump's friendly gestures toward Democrats have annoyed some Republicans, who are hoping to oust them next year to pad their majority.

But Trump recently has been trying a bipartisan approach after a partisan Obamacare repeal effort failed this summer and earlier this year. He agreed to a fiscal deal with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi last week and has angled for some Democratic votes on tax reform.

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Republicans are planning to pursue reform in the Senate via a majority vote threshold, though any Democratic votes could be key due to the GOP's narrow 52-seat majority and internal divisions.