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Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., suggested Thursday that his Republican colleagues may be "holding back" on endorsing a candidate for president because they are waiting for Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C, to officially jump in the race.
“I think Tim Scott would be a great person. Look, he’s intelligent. He gets it. He works well with people. He’s finding a path forward that would unite, I think, Republicans and independents, which is what we need to gain back the White House,” Rounds told NBC News in an interview in the Capitol.
“A lot of us that are holding back on looking at anybody else until Tim makes up his mind,” Rounds added. “And then once he’s made his decision at that point, then a lot of us would really like to see him succeed.”
Scott, who launched an exploratory committee last month, is expected to jump into the race this month, teasing a "major announcement on May 22. So far, 10 GOP senators have weighed in on the presidential race, all of them endorsing former President Donald Trump.
Rounds also criticized former Trump, suggesting lawmakers who want to unite the party may be looking for a Trump alternative in 2024. Rounds has frequently criticized the former president, even drawing Trump's ire after calling out his false stolen election claims.
Rounds said he watched Trump’s town hall on CNN Wednesday night, and while the former president “seemed to be enjoying” his command of the largely favorable crowd, Rounds took issue with Trump’s comments on the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and the 2020 election.
“The vast majority of us that were here on Jan. 6 would clearly disagree with the approach that he has in that regard,” Rounds said. “So there are some things that we agreed with, but there are a number of areas where we would have disagreements.”
“In terms of what it does for many of us that are looking to unite the party, we’re still looking," Rounds later added. "We believe that there are individuals out there that want to unite the party, and that’s what we’re looking forward to."
Rounds wasn't the only senator to criticize Trump after his town hall event.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said he will not support Trump in 2024 when asked if he was concerned that Trump would not say whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal.
“Of course it does. That’s why I don’t intend to support him for the Republican nomination,” Young told reporters.
Pressed for his rationale, Young simply responded, “Where do I begin?”
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who is running for governor, said he was “not really” surprised to see his fellow Hoosier take that position. Braun said he doesn’t plan to endorse a Republican for president any time soon, but that whoever ends up being the party’s nominee, they should be able to “corner the market” on the independent vote.
Asked if he believes Trump can do that, Braun said, "We should have the right message. It clearly needs to be needs to be aimed at independents in the middle. They elect the swing state senators and the president.”