Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Blaise Ingoglia was part of a small group of state party heads who met with President Donald Trump earlier this month to talk about issues important to their communities.
Ingoglia, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and a state representative, was one of 10 Republican party leaders, primarily from swing states to meet with Trump and Reince Priebus, the president’s chief of staff, during a meeting in Washington, D.C. last week. The Spring Hill Republican said the president was interested in discussing issues that were important to the states, and wanted to know how the government could help states and local communities.
Ingoglia said the chairs of the Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan Republican parties also attended.
Ingoglia said he talked with Priebus about the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, which the Trump administration announced Monday it would extend for another six months.
Temporary Protected Status was given to Haitians living in the United States after a 2010 earthquake devastated parts of that country. Haitians granted the protection can live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation. Haitian participation in the program has been regularly renewed for 18-month intervals and the latest extension expires in July.
The Associated Press reported Haitians nervously anticipated the Trump administration’s decision given the president’s tough stance on immigration, both legal and illegal. Immigration was a top campaign issue and one that’s important to his political base.
Ingoglia said the group also spoke to Trump about economic issues, and the president and Priebus asked questions about how the federal government could do to help communities within the states. Ingoglia said what was impressive is they didn’t care if the issues were Democratic or Republican issues, they just “wanted to reach out to (as many) community leaders as possible.”
Ingoglia helped deliver Florida, a critical swing state, to Trump during the 2016 election. He said the visit to the Oval Office last week was the first time he had spoken to the president since Trump took office.
“It was a little surreal,” he said of his Oval Office meeting. “If you know the president, he’s very welcoming. He likes to talk; he likes to get feedback. It was a very humbling experience.”
__The Associated Press contributed to this report, reprinted with permissions.
