Republicans close ranks around Trump as he looks to lock up his third nomination

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republicans are quickly falling in line behind former President Donald Trump's bid for a return to the White House, signaling a growing consensus that his nomination is all but inevitable.

The most glaringexample: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., became the third former Trump rival to backhis campaign in a week, joining North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Scott gave his endorsementat a rally here Friday just four days before the New Hampshire primary.

But the shifting ground can also be observed in the ranks of lawmakers and donors who are scrambling to put themselves on Trump's good side before it's too late.

"There will be a lot of people on planes to Mar-a-Lago over the next couple of weeks," one former Trump campaign official who is in close contact with donors and elected officials said, anticipatingvisits planned to Trump's home in Palm Beach, Florida. "A lot of folks trying to make sure they kiss the ring in the appropriate time frame."

For a growing number, that time frame is now.

Brad Todd, a Republican strategist who is not working for a presidential campaign, attributed the gusher of support for Trump to two key factors: the work Trump and his operation — including top aides Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita and Brian Jack — haveput into wooing endorsements, and a dawning realization that the former president is on the precipice of locking up his third straight nomination.

“Everybody senses that an endorsement only helps him now," Todd said. "They want to do it when they are adding value, as opposed to when it’s meaningless. After South Carolina it will be meaningless if he wins New Hampshire."

Members of Congress have long since decided the cost of explicitly stepping out