Beatrix von Storch, deputy leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, held talks at the White House this week, two people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

The visit highlights the burgeoning relationship between the AfD and the Trump administration, after Vice President JD Vance expressed support for the party shortly after taking office in January.

Accompanying von Storch was Joachim Paul, an AfD politician from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany, who is contesting a mayoral race in the town of Ludwigshafen but was struck from the ballot amid legal disputes.

The pair met with officials from the U.S. National Security Council, the State Department and Vance’s office, the people said. It’s unclear if they met with Vance himself; Vance’s office declined to comment.

The talks focused on democratic participation and election procedures, according to the same AfD circles. Paul, whose candidacy was disqualified by a German court earlier this year, was presented as a case study in what the AfD describes as the narrowing of political freedoms in Germany. 

At the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance raised eyebrows by questioning Germany’s political “firewall” against the AfD, a political agreement by other forces not to include the far-right party in governance. Mainstream parties say the policy is intended to avoid a repeat of country’s Nazi era.

In a speech focused on democratic representation, Vance argued that excluding the far-right party from dialogue undermines voter legitimacy. “There is no place for firewalls,” Vance said, in comments interpreted by most as referring to German politics. Later, in Munich, Vance went a step further by holding a meeting with AfD co-leader Alice Weidel.

The meetings also touched on the case of Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was last week imprisoned for 27 years for attempting a coup following his loss in Brazil’s 2022 election. Eduardo, a federal deputy in Brazil’s Congress who also faces criminal charges and is living in the U.S. under self-imposed exile, has built close ties with right-wing networks in the United States and Europe.

The younger Bolsonaro has positioned himself as a champion of conservative causes and a vocal critic of left-leaning governments in Latin America, making him a frequent reference point for far-right politicians seeking international solidarity.

White House officials did not immediately respond to requests by POLITICO for comment.

One AfD official said U.S. interlocutors provided background material on election law and voiced concern over the possibility of restrictions on free speech.

“The Americans don’t accept limits on freedom of expression — if something like this happened in the U.S., candidates couldn’t simply be removed from lists,” the AfD insider said, summarizing the party’s interpretation of the talks.

The trip received the blessing of the AfD’s national board and parliamentary group, the people said. Von Storch and Paul are expected to remain in Washington for several more days for follow-up meetings, including at the State Department.

Eli Stokols contributed to this report from Washington.