Key Republicans Line Up behind Trump Cheer Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky.

Key Republicans swing behind Trump; he takes 2 primaries

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., with, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 10, 2016.
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Key Senate Republicans voiced optimism Tuesday about Donald Trump’s presidential prospects in November, the clearest signal yet to the GOP rank and file to unite behind him and turn their energy against Democrat Hillary Clinton. But it was uncertain whether the doubters could be quieted.
Trump added two more primaries to his column, taking West Virginia and Nebraska. Clinton lost West Virginia to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who refuses to bow out as Trump’s GOP foes have, but that hardly dented her huge Democratic delegate lead. Clinton won in Nebraska, but those delegates had already been allocated in an earlier caucus won by Sanders.
The presidential race was on lawmakers’ minds on Capitol Hill, too.
“We have a nominee, it looks like he may well be very competitive, and we want to win the White House,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters. He also said, “We know that Hillary Clinton will be four more years of Barack Obama. I think that’s going to in the end be enough to unify Republicans across the country.”
Still, doubt and angst over Trump remained palpable as GOP lawmakers returned from a weeklong recess that saw him effectively clinch the presidential nomination. For some, the question of whether they were backing their party’s standard-bearer — a no-brainer in a normal election year — proved too much to answer.
“We’re not doing any Trump questions today,” an aide to Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois told a crowd of reporters as Kirk, one of the most endangered Senate Republicans, sped into a meeting.
Another Republican who’s up for re-election, Tim Scott of South Carolina, offered his support, but like others managed to sound grudging and backhanded in the process. “I’m supporting the Republican candidate, and it happens to be Donald Trump,” he said.
A third, Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, deflected questions about whether he would back Trump, saying he’s focused only on securing another six-year Senate term.
“The only thing I can do is get re-elected so we have a Republican majority in the Senate,” Isakson said. “I will support the Republican ticket and I’m endorsing me for my Senate seat.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics

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