US President Donald Trump is convening a Cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat on July 31 as he weighs how to end the war with Iran and curb rising gasoline prices that are putting pressure on Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections.
Unlike some of his predecessors, Trump has rarely visited the mountaintop retreat in western Maryland, instead opting to spend much of his time away from the White House at his golf resorts, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The visit marks his third trip to Camp David during his second term.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing last week that the gathering would be the 13th Cabinet meeting of Trump's second term and described it as "a lot of fun and something different for the cabinet to experience together."
The meeting is expected to focus primarily on foreign policy, with the conflict in Iran high on the agenda. Trump remains engaged in an exchange of strikes with Iranian targets, with no end in sight to a conflict that he had initially predicted would last only a few weeks but has now stretched into its fifth month.
The war has driven gasoline prices sharply higher and weighed on the president's public support. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found that only one in three Americans supports the conflict, the lowest level recorded since the early stages of the war.
The economic impact of the conflict has also heightened concerns among Republicans as they prepare for the November elections, when Democrats will attempt to regain control of the US Congress.
Trump's Cabinet meetings typically last well over an hour, with each Cabinet secretary providing updates on their department's work, often accompanied by praise for the president.
Following the meeting, Trump is scheduled to travel to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, for the weekend.
By Bakhtiyar Abbasov
