Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination for president on Thursday, a victory that was met mostly with shrugs from the GOP lawmakers who are nonetheless pinning their hopes on a Republican in the White House in January.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, who talked by phone Wednesday with the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, didn’t congratulate Trump when asked about press reports that he has won the nomination outright by securing 1,237 delegates.
“What I’m most concerned about is making sure that we actually have real party unity, not pretend party unity,” said Ryan, who has not yet endorsed Trump. “Real party unity, because we need to win this election in the fall. There’s just too much at stake. The Supreme Court, on and on and on I could go. The point is, I want real party unity, and that’s what I’m most concerned about.”
Trump’s endorsement count on Capitol Hill has been on the rise, but the pace has been very slow, particularly among staunch conservatives who question Trump’s commitment to GOP principles.
“I’m going to support the ticket, but I’m waiting to see what happens in the next few months,” Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., told the Washington Examiner.
Jones is among a substantial group of lawmakers who have cringed at Trump’s brash campaign style and habit of name-calling and insulting his opponents.
“I just want to see how he handles himself,” Jones said. “I want to get back to the issues and stop all these personality-type things. My country is falling apart. Morally and economically. I want to hear those kinds of debate and those kinds of discussions. Get away from this name calling. It’s like being in the third grade. So I want to see how it goes.”
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said lawmakers don’t care about the delegate count.
“Does that translate necessarily into a plethora of new endorsements?” Meadows said. “I don’t know that it does.”
Trump’s message, “and how that resonates with individual members in the House and Senate,” matter much more, Meadows said.
Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., who is endorsing Trump, told the Examiner that “of course it matters” that Trump has crossed the delegate finish line.
“I think it will change the press narrative, which is hugely important,” Brat said. “The story that he doesn’t have a prayer, well, everyone was wrong before. Are they going to be wrong again? I think so.”
He predicted Trump will win more GOP endorsements.
“The trend lines are going up,” Brat said.
House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who has also endorsed Trump, said the delegate count won’t advance Trump’s status in Congress as much as his personal interactions with lawmakers.
“I think he will learn he has a whole lot in common with us,” Sessions said. “I believe he will not only lean on us, but work with us well.”
