Key House Republican isn't ready to endorse Donald Trump
The chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) in the House says he's not ready to endorse Donald Trump for president.
"I cannot endorse Donald Trump at this time," Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, said in a statement provided to CBS News.
Flores explained that one of the reasons why he's withholding an endorsement is because of the presumptive GOP nominee's recent comments about the Mexican heritage of the federal judge overseeing lawsuits against Trump University.
"Mr. Trump needs to show how he will address the critical issues on the minds of Americans: national security and economic opportunity for hardworking American families. Americans need to see more vision and less trash talk. I was incredibly angry to see Mr. Trump question a judge's motives because of his ethnicity," he said.
At the same time, Flores stressed, "I will not vote for Hillary Clinton" and wants to vote for a "bold, conservative leader."
"Mr. Trump can be that leader and we are ready to help him when he focuses on vision instead of inappropriate attacks," he added.
Flores' comments come a day after Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said that Trump's remark about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel was the "textbook definition of a racist comment." Ryan formally endorsed Trump for president last week after hesitating to do so for about a month.
While the statement from Flores wasn't made on behalf of the group he leads, the RSC is considered one of the more conservative factions in the House Republican conference. For example, its proposed budget last year laid out more than $7 trillion in government spending cuts while the main House GOP budget proposed $5.5 trillion in cuts.
