House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi walks with Hillary Clinton to a House Democratic Caucus meeting on June 22, 2016. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Clinton tells House Democrats she will compete in all 50 states

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton got a raucous welcome from House Democrats on Wednesday during her first visit to Capitol Hill since effectively clinching the nomination.

The theme of the day was one word — unity, unity — and more unity, and she entered the meeting to chants of “Hillary, Hillary!”


“We need to unify the country,” Clinton said to applause.

Invited to address rank-and-file lawmakers by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra of California, Clinton told Democrats that she will compete in all 50 states and coordinate as much as possible with Democratic congressional candidates and incumbents.

But Clinton also noted that battleground states will get the most attention, as would be expected. “I mean, I’ve been to Ohio three times,” Clinton said, according to one Democratic lawmaker.

Clinton also spoke about how she unified Democrats in 2008 following a long, bitter primary battle with now President Barack Obama, even though her supporters urged her to continue opposing Obama.

Although Democrats have nowhere near the turmoil that Republicans face over Donald Trump, Clinton and Democratic leaders must work to win over the progressive wing of the party, which had strongly supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in his bid for the nomination. While Sanders had only a fraction of Clinton’s support among House Democrats, party officials are keenly aware that they need “Bernie voters” to win in November.

There were some light moments in the meeting, as well. When Becerra — who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick — offered Clinton some water, Rep. Joe Crowley of New York joked, “Man, you’re really working it.” The Democrats erupted in laughter.

Top Democrats played up their cohesion heading into the Wednesday session.

“You’ve got the next president of the United States, here. It’s going to be all positive things,” said Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland.



“This will be about unity. It is time to come together,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). “And she will probably be reaching out to the Sanders wing. As I said the other day, it takes two wings to fly, and both sides of our party are an asset, not a problem.”

“I expect we will see here a fighting spirit now that she has the nomination,” added Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.).

Republicans responded to the Clinton visit by issuing statements bashing the Democratic standard-bearer, and GOP leadership aides noted privately that the Benghazi committee — chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) — is still drafting its report on the 2012 attack that left four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state remains under investigation by the FBI.

“FBI target and presumptive Democrat nominee for president, Hillary Clinton, is meeting on Capitol Hill this morning with House Democrats. What will Clinton and House Democrats discuss?” asked the National Republican Congressional Committee in a news release. “Perhaps Hillary and House Democrats can discuss how to prevent her toxic image among voters from doing further damage to down ballot candidates in November.”

Rachael Bade contributed to this report.