The reality that Donald Trump is on a path to win the GOP presidential nomination is hitting Capitol Hill. Hard.

And it's provoking a range of reactions — anger, fear, bafflement, resignation and, for the first time Wednesday, support.


GOP leaders are trying to stay out of the presidential race, even as rank-and-file members scurry to figure out what it means. Is the Trump phenomenon real, and can it last? If it does, is it good or bad for their own campaigns? Is the anti-Washington, "Make America Great Again" message aimed at them or President Barack Obama and the Democrats, or maybe both?

Some Republicans are now comparing Trump to Ronald Reagan, the GOP's ultimate iconic figure who expanded the party's appeal far beyond where it is now. Others are saying he's more Barry Goldwater, who led the party to disastrous defeat. Some think he's unhinged; many others still don't know what to make of him.

Reps. Chris Collins of New York and Duncan Hunter of California became the first sitting Republicans to endorse Trump, now the undisputed front-runner for the nomination after his victory in the Nevada caucuses Tuesday. Collins had been a Jeb Bush backer before the Florida governor dropped out.

“One thing I can speak with some confidence about is that Donald Trump will put together the best Cabinet you’ve ever seen in the United States of America,” Collins said in an interview. “He will appoint the best and brightest to each of those key positions because that’s what a private sector guy does.”

The New York Republican said he switched his support to Trump weeks ago but was waiting for Bush to quit the race before going public. Collins had donated $50,000 from his campaign to a pro-Bush super PAC.

Now Collins says he’s pitching his wary colleagues on Trump. Collins admits some Republicans are nervous because of comments Trump has made about women and minorities. But he argued that more GOP lawmakers will back Trump as his delegate lead — and aura of inevitability — grows.

“I do believe other people will jump on the Trump train. When you look at the winner-take-all [states] and his overwhelming victory in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and even more so now in Nevada, it will be all but impossible to stop him,” Collins said. “And there are those who want to jump on the Trump train because he now appears to be the winner. That was not my case. ... I’m solidly and proud to be behind Donald Trump.”

Hunter added that "a silent majority in the House like Trump."

These first congressional nods for Trump are significant. Capitol Hill Republicans largely ignored the bombastic businessman until he won big in three early voting states. Trump has momentum now, something that incumbents understand better than anyone.

While Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is winning the endorsement race among congressional Republicans — and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has backing from several House conservatives — pressure will mount on lawmakers to get behind Trump if he keeps piling up wins.

Still, a number of Hill Republicans are watching his rise with angst.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Trump would be terrible for the Republican Party and the country.

"I'm running out of adjectives how bad I think Donald Trump is for the party and the country," the former presidential hopeful said.

Rep. Justin Amash, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said on Twitter that Trump’s rise means the country is “witnessing the beginning of the end of the current two-party system in the United States.”

Amash also fears that a President Trump would further expand executive power at the expense of Congress, a frequent GOP complaint about Obama.

"I’m concerned that his approach, which is the ends justify the means, just wield power, is basically the establishment’s approach," Amash said in an interview. "It’s just that he is a new sort of establishment that could get elected. It’s the same basic philosophy. Might makes right. He’s going to go in there and do what Congress won’t do, and in many ways that's very similar to what Republicans say about Obama."

Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), a leading conservative, is clearly warming up to Trump. He said there's some optimism that Trump could help Republicans compete in the Northeast and other Democratic strongholds.

Yet Mulvaney isn't totally sold on Trump yet.

"I get worried about people who advertise themselves as one thing and do something else. To the extent that Trump is trying to convince people that he’s a conservative and he’s not, well, that bugs me," Mulvaney said. "But more and more, in the last couple of weeks he’s been straightforward about how he’s conservative on some issues and on some things maybe he’s not very conservative.”

National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Greg Walden invokes the Reagan comparison, but warily. Walden witnessed firsthand a militia takeover of a federal building in his own Oregon district recently, and he is cognizant of how dangerous an anti-Washington, anti-establishment message can become.

"[Trump] is also attracting a whole new group of voters, much like Ronald Reagan did in 1980, who have been disaffected by what they see in Washington, who are upset frankly more with this administration ... than this Congress," Walden said. "You're seeing this enormous energy on the right, less so for Democrats."

Walden, though, isn't ready to endorse Trump. "I am going to support the Republican nominee," Walden responded when asked whether he could back Trump.

Neither is Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.), the chief deputy majority whip who had been Bush's point man on Capitol Hill.

"Members of Congress follow the presidential nominating process just like every active Republican does — with a great deal of interest but only a small amount of information," McHenry joked. "We're all looking and seeing what's afoot in the primaries and trying to adapt to it."

Asked whether he'd back Trump, McHenry declared: "I will support the Republican nominee."