Donald Trump met privately Tuesday with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, kicking off what could be one of the most complicated post-election relationships in Washington.
Cruz visited Trump Tower on Tuesday afternoon to meet with the President-elect, a step most congressional Republicans have not yet taken. Many Republican leaders in Congress have merely spoken with Trump by phone.
The topic of their conversation was not clear.
Catherine Frazier, a Cruz spokeswoman, said in a statement that Cruz “looks forward to assisting the Trump administration” in achieving policy wins for conservatives, though she did not offer further details.
Cruz, a leader of the most conservative parts of the Republican Party, ran against Trump for the GOP nomination and was his chief rival for much of the race. After dropping out of the race in May, Cruz withheld his endorsement of his party’s nominee, snubbing him at the Republican National Convention before coming around in September.
Cruz and Trump previously met at Trump Tower in the middle of the primary last year, when Cruz, unlike much of the Republican field, was intentionally not drawing contrasts with the party’s frontrunner.
This visit may stoke speculation about a Cruz role in the Trump administration. Cruz, however, has said he plans to run for re-election in 2018 and the former Texas solicitor general has repeatedly said he has no interest in serving on the Supreme Court.