A GOP lawmaker told hundreds of young conservatives at a conference in Washington on Friday that they can learn from Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer last year.

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"The political world of appearances is different than the real world of appearances or the business world," Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) said in an interview with The Hill's Molly K. Hooper.

"Some things to me that seem obvious as a businessman, [when] I talk to the staff they say, 'Well that wouldn't look so well because of this or that, because around here, in this world, no good deed goes unpunished.' If someone can extract value from you, they’re gonna do it," he said.



The freshman GOP lawmaker is one of a handful of elected officials, including Vice President Pence, set to address young professionals gathered for the Mavericks PAC conference.

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), another speaker, said he expects to hear the group of potential future GOP candidates discuss economic matters instead of the Russia scandal or the president's tweeting habits.

"They want to make sure they have more money in their pockets, food on the table table, a roof over head - these are folks who are in the beginning or middle of their career. They have kids and want to make sure that the country is preparing their children for jobs that don't exist today," Hurd said.

Trump Jr. faced a political firestorm this week after disclosing emails showing his correspondence with an entertainment publicist setting up a meeting with a Russian lawyer last summer during the presidential campaign.

Trump Jr. expressed eagerness to receive information from the source after being told they had compromising details about then-Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

Watch the video above to hear the lawmakers in their own words.