Early Trump Backers Seize Power on Capitol Hill

Politico: “Barletta is a member of Washington’s newest and most exclusive club, a small band of Republican lawmakers who got behind Trump when their own party establishment had him pegged as a surefire general election loser, if he even managed to win the nomination. The few who were willing to endure the ridicule of other GOP lawmakers by placing their chips on Trump early have been vaulted from backbench obscurity to now arguably rivaling the influence of GOP congressional leaders.”

“They, more than the high-profile pols flocking to Trump since he won, have the ear of the president-elect. They are among a handful of gatekeepers to the soon-to-be most powerful man in the world.”