Senate GOP Chief Mitch McConnell introduced Wednesday he’ll help Donald Trump for the presidency, a transfer that comes greater than three years after they have last spoken and after the Kentucky Republican pointedly blamed Trump for the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol.
“It’s abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite help of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the USA,” McConnell mentioned in an announcement. “It ought to come as no shock that as nominee, he could have my help.”
McConnell’s announcement got here simply minutes after Trump’s closing substantive main challenger – former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – mentioned she would go away the race the morning after Tremendous Tuesday, by which Trump dominated the races throughout the nation.
McConnell’s help got here after prolonged discussions for months between Chris LaCivita from the Trump marketing campaign and longtime McConnell confidant Josh Holmes about opening communications between the 2 camps and – possibly most significantly – getting on the identical web page concerning the US Senate races this yr, in keeping with a supply acquainted.
McConnell, who hasn’t spoken to Trump since December 2020, didn’t converse to him earlier than he issued his endorsement, in keeping with one other supply accustomed to the matter. The supply mentioned that LaCivita and Holmes spoke as a substitute.
The general public help from McConnell, who introduced final week he would step down as GOP leader at the end of the year, additionally got here after his different high Republican senators have endorsed Trump. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican within the chamber who’s working to exchange McConnell, endorsed Trump earlier this month. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, one other doable McConnell successor, backed Trump after he received the New Hampshire main.
Thune, who has been vocal prior to now about his issues over how Trump will fare with suburban voters, informed CNN that he believes the Republican ticket will ship a united message.
“I feel we received to, gonna have a united ticket going into the autumn. and we’ll all exit and all assist aggressively win these folks in suburban areas, impartial voters,” he informed CNN. “It’s now a – it’s a straight up one on one.”
Different congressional Republicans are additionally setting apart previous issues over Trump because the get together’s nominee and rallying behind him.
Rep. John Duarte, a California Republican who represents a district Joe Biden received final cycle, informed CNN that he’s targeted on who he’s working in opposition to and that he plans to endorse Trump.
“I feel Biden’s the opponent and that’s good for me. It’s simple to run in opposition to Joe Biden today and that’s what we’ll be doing,” he informed CNN when requested if Trump on the high of the ticket might have implications for powerful races down poll.
Duarte added that he “most likely received’t” marketing campaign with Trump however that he doesn’t assume he must distance himself from him and that he’ll be endorsing the previous president.
“I can be, he’s our Republican nominee for president and we’ve got to cease the Biden failures,” he informed CNN. “So many individuals in my district of all, of all backgrounds, wish to see these insurance policies ended. That we have to drill American oil, we have to get water on the farms, we have to get affordability and alternative again in America.”
And GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who represents a Biden received Pennsylvania district, declined to say whether or not he can be endorsing Trump.
This story has been up to date with further developments.
CNN’s Dana Bash and Sam Fossum contributed to this report.