“It seems like he’s taken on the role of explainer-in-chief,” said Rep. Charlie Dent (Pa.), a centrist Republican who did not support Trump in the campaign.

“He’s the comforter-in-chief,” said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group. “That role works . . . because everyone respects his integrity and likes him personally.”…

He attended Senate Republicans’ weekly lunch on Dec. 6, which he hopes to continue doing when he is in town, and used his remarks to underscore the importance of fighting the health-care law known as Obamacare and assert that tax reform is a real and achievable goal, according to a person familiar with the conversation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private meeting.

Later, Pence met privately with Sasse, one of the most vocal Republican Trump critics during the campaign. Sasse’s office called the meeting “productive.” Short called Sasse an “up and coming leader” whom Pence and the new administration “look forward to working with.”