Derek Robertson is an intern for Politico Magazine.

Update, 12:16 p.m. on March 21: We have a winner: Representative Chris Collins, a Republican from New York’s 27th District, who was the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Trump. Collins made an unlikely run as a seven-seed to claim the title of “The Loyalist,” overcoming such die-hard Trump supporters as Representative Devin Nunes, Senator Tom Cotton and even the president’s own children in Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka, Collins’ two opponents in the final rounds.

In a post-“game” interview, Collins expressed exactly the kind of admiration and fealty that the president has traditionally demanded from his allies.


“I’m thrilled to be The Loyalist,” Collins said. “I’ve been out there from day one. This morning I was on Fox News, and yesterday—so I’ve done a lot of national TV. Our phones light up when I do, and people recognize I’ve been a staunch defender of the president, even in awkward times. … Folks who see me on national media say, ‘That’s the guy,’ and when they put my name in print, they say I’m Trump’s No. 1 supporter in Congress.”

Collins said he plans to ask for the president’s autograph on the bracket. When asked if his staffers coordinated a get-out-the-vote campaign to boost him over the top—they had e-mailed POLITICO Magazine inquiring about the scheduling of the polls—Collins demurred. “I don’t know who all those folks were,” he said of his Twitter voters. “I don’t personally go online that much.”

“I’m sure [my staff] were excited,” he continued. “This was a fun distraction from some of the daily grind, if you will, and it’s exactly that. I brought them in some doughnuts this morning.”



***

President Donald Trump loves competition. America loves competition. And the annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament, more commonly recognized by those with basic cultural literacy as “March Madness,” is our most beloved and ritualized version of that competition. An eerie hush falls over office parks across the country every spring as Chili’s, Applebee’s and Buffalo Wild Wings employees prepare for the hordes at the gates, ready to cheer on their favorite amateur, collegiate, definitely-not-financially-compensated student-athletes.

Of course, for millions of Americans the fun of the tournament isn’t in the on-the-court action, it’s in the bracket, the attempt to predict the tournament’s winners out of its field of 64 participants. And in a sprawling competition worthy of the POTUS’ heads-will-roll organizational ethos, we at Politico Magazine have assembled a contest that pits the bureaucrats, members of Congress and hangers-on in Trump’s orbit against one another in a weeklong smackdown for the ultimate prize—his loyalty, the clear personal lodestar of an often inscrutable temperament.

To you, readers, we pose a simple question with this bracket: Who is most likely to stay in Trump’s good graces until the bitter end? The level of turnover in the Trump White House has been enough to make human resources directors everywhere blanch. Trump says loyalty is one of the qualities he values most in his staff, yet he’s proved himself willing to cast aside staffers at a moment’s notice when necessary—just ask Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos or Sam Nunberg.

Over the course of this coming week, we’ll be pitting the seeds in each “region” against each other in polls on our official Twitter account, where you can vote for the Trumpite in each pair who has the stuff to maintain the president’s trust. Each poll will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the winner of each matchup will advance to the next round the next day. The idea is we’ll end up with an aggregated prediction of the last man or woman who will emerge from Trump’s presidency having won the steadfast allegiance he affords to a McDonald's burger. You can follow along by downloading a bracket below or here. The results will be refreshed on this page accordingly. Please report any recruiting or eligibility violations to the proper authorities.

