Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper was seen leaving the West Wing of the White House, Monday afternoon, following a meeting with the Republican Party co-chair Bob Paduchik.
Great meetings in Washington, DC today as Chairman of the IDU. Thank you to RNC Co-Chair @paduch for an excellent discussion about building a strong global association of conservative parties though the @IDU_Secretariat. pic.twitter.com/7tesLmI1EL
— Stephen Harper (@stephenharper) July 2, 2018
There are some U.S. reports that Harper met with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, and was scheduled to speak with American National Security Adviser John Bolton - the U.S. ambassador to the UN while Harper was in power.
The federal Liberals were surprised when they learned of the trip late last week.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been the target of criticism as of late from U.S. President Donald Trump, with ongoing disagreements over trade.
Details have yet to come out of the meeting.
At a briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not answer a reporter who asked why Harper was at the White House, but she did answer a question in regards to Canada's new tariffs.
“We’ve been very nice to Canada for many years and they’ve taken advantage of that, particularly advantage of our farmers,” she said.
The former Prime Minister has kept busy since stepping down as leader of the federal Conservatives after his defeat in October 2015. He's written a book, started a consultancy firm and currently serves as chairperson of the International Democrat Union.
- With files from CTV