With less than two weeks until the Iowa caucuses, former President Donald Trump is solidifying his frontrunner status by locking up the endorsements of the No. 2 and 3 ranking Republicans in the House this week, as well as that of Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., endorsed Trump on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, despite Trump declining to support each of their bids for the House speakership late last year. The entire Minnesota GOP congressional delegation joined Emmer in endorsing Trump on Wednesday.
“Democrats have made it clear they will use every tool in their arsenal to try and keep Joe Biden and his failed policies in power. We cannot let them,” Emmer said in a statement. “It’s time for Republicans to unite behind our party’s clear frontrunner, which is why I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for President.”
While Trump thanked Emmer for his support on social media on Wednesday, he attacked the Minnesota Republican when Emmer sought to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker in October. Trump said publicly Emmer wasn’t a friend and it would have been a “mistake” to make him speaker.
"I was never treated particularly well by him, as you probably have heard. And he wasn't MAGA. Most people are MAGA in the Republican party,” Trump said outside a New York City courtroom after Emmer dropped out of the race.
But on Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee characterized Emmer as a member of the “Make America Great Again” movement, named for Trump’s campaign slogan. The consolidation around Trump, the DNC argued, would doom Republicans to “face the consequences” at the ballot box in November.
“With the endorsement of far-right extremist Tom Emmer, every single member of House GOP leadership has officially endorsed Trump’s 2024 run,” DNC press secretary Sarafina Chitika said in a statement. “Emmer is the latest MAGA minion to throw his support behind Trump’s extreme agenda of threatening our democratic institutions, banning abortion nationwide, endangering access to health care, and slashing essential programs hardworking Americans rely on.”
When Scalise was in the speaker’s race, Trump backed Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. Scalise dropped out days later. Eventually, Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson was able to ascend to the speakership and quickly backed Trump. GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and GOP Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer, R-Ala. -- the No. 4 and 5 House Republicans -- have already endorsed the former president.
On Tuesday in a statement to Fox News, Scalise cited economic concerns and immigration policy as reasons for backing Trump.
"In this race, there is one man who has a proven track record of being able to save our country and get us back on track: Donald Trump," Scalise said. "He has done it once before, and I know he will do it again."
On Wednesday, Cotton also cited the economy and immigration as he became the 19th senator to endorse Trump. No other GOP presidential candidate still in the race has secured a Senate endorsement.
“When Donald Trump was president, America was safe, strong, and prosperous. The economy was booming, working-class wages were growing, our border was secure, and our enemies feared us,” Cotton wrote on social media on Wednesday morning. “With Joe Biden as president, everything has gone to hell: families can’t afford groceries, our border is wide open to a full-blown invasion, and our enemies are starting wars everywhere.”
In a separate post on Wednesday, Cotton wrote that Biden, 81, is “clearly too old to serve today” and that the “idea that he could win re-election and serve until January 2029 is a farce.” Trump is 77 years old.
A fervent supporter during Trump’s first term, Cotton drew the then-president’s wrath when he said he planned to vote to certify the 2020 presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021. Two days before, Trump posted on social media that Republicans would “NEVER FORGET” if Cotton voted to certify.
Trump now faces two trials -- a federal conspiracy prosecution in Washington and a state-level racketeering case in Georgia -- connected to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump still falsely maintains the election was stolen from him through massive voter fraud, a unproven conspiracy theory that has been shot down by lawmakers, judges and election officials from both parties. Cotton has argued Trump’s attempts to stay in the White House were “constitutionally protected activities” for a sitting president to undertake, an argument currently being adjudicated in federal court.
“You don’t have to agree with him, you don’t have to think he was right. But I don’t see how these charges can go forward without a serious constitutional challenge from the former president,” Cotton said in August.
Beyond the Senate, Trump has locked up the endorsements of nearly 100 House members and seven governors, according to FiveThirtyEight. Only Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has multiple House and gubernatorial endorsements. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has received the backing of one each.
The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 15, followed by the New Hampshire primaries on Jan. 23. According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Trump leads DeSantis 50% to 18% in Iowa and Haley 44% to about 26% in New Hampshire.