AP Photo/Alex Brandon; Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool; AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
- Key Republicans in NY swing districts are standing behind Trump after his hush-money conviction.
- The lawmakers have parroted Trump's argument that the conviction undermines the judicial system.
- But that support could hurt them politically among suburban moderates and independents.
For GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill, former President Donald Trump continues to wield immense power over their political futures.
Since 2016, Trump has effectively maintained a stranglehold over the party by molding its ideological direction, keeping Republican lawmakers in line, and cultivating a political base that has remained unflinchingly loyal to him for nearly a decade.