McCain To Address House Republicans Next Week

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, is scheduled to wade into another lion's den next week in an effort to shore up more support among party faithful in his bid for the White House.

McCain, an occasional punching bag for House Republicans, is tentatively scheduled to address his GOP colleagues in the lower chamber next week during their regularly-scheduled closed-door conference meeting, according to Republican aides and lobbyists.

These are the same folks who derailed his initial immigration bill and continue to pillory the signature legislation that bears his name, McCain-Feingold, which established the current campaign-finance rules.

Tom DeLay, the former Republican leader in the House to whom some GOP lawmakers remain loyal, continues to chide the Arizona senator even as many conservative leaders line up behind him.  (McCain, for the record, ran a certain Indian Affairs probe into jailed former lobbyist Jack Abramoff that ensnared plenty of folks from the DeLay universe.)

And lest we forget, one House Republican, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, is still running against McCain for the nomination - but don't expect that to turn anyone away from the Arizona senator.

But the tides appears to be turning. New York Rep. Tom Reynolds plans to endorse McCain later today, and others are lining up to throw their support behind McCain.

The conference is set for Wednesday, and McCain's folks reached out to Republican leaders in the House earlier this week, one aide said.

Staff are still hammering out the details of his appearance, but stay tuned. Member comments to the press afterward should provide a telling indication of just how willing some frequent McCain detractors are willing to go to support their party's presumed presidential nominee. After all, House-Senate rivalries are among the most fierce in politics.