WASHINGTON (AP) – Congressional Republicans are returning to Capitol Hill to confront an awkward new reality: Donald Trump is their presumptive presidential nominee. But instead of uniting behind him, leading figures like House Speaker Paul Ryan are withholding their support.
That highly unusual state of affairs is creating a tricky situation for Republicans in the House and Senate. Some of them fear Trump could prove a drag on their own re-election chances in a year when the GOP is fighting to hang onto its slim Senate majority.
Yet the question might not be so ridiculous in an election year where the GOP has been shaken by a divisive billionaire like Trump. He spent years as a registered Democrat and has managed to insult women, Hispanics, disabled people and others.