Delegations from the two loyalist fringe parties in Northern Ireland are on a joint visit to the United States and will visit the White House as part of a round of meetings this week.
Mr David Ervine, of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), and Mr Gary McMichael, of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), left Belfast yesterday. Each is accompanied by a fellow party member.
They are in New York over the weekend, meeting senior editorial figures from the local media and Irish-American interest groups.
They travel to Washington on Monday and will meet State Department officials. They are scheduled for a White House meeting, possibly on Tuesday. It is not clear if they will meet President Clinton.
The fact that the two groups are taking part in the joint visit is seen by Belfast loyalists as dispelling rumours that there is a rift between the main paramilitaries.
Speculation about a rift arose when the PUP, which is associated with the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), refused to take part in last weekend's rally in Belfast to mark the third anniversary of the loyalist ceasefire.
The rally was organised and attended mainly by supporters of the other paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), which is associated with the UDP.
This followed reports that the UDA had decided to withdraw from the umbrella group, the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC).
While there are more or less permanent differences between the two groups, senior loyalist sources say the fact that the political wings of the two groups are visiting the US together shows there is no serious split.