Michele Bachmann gets first congressional endorsement

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann on Thursday announced that Arizona Rep. Trent Franks will serve as her congressional co-chair, giving Bachmann her first endorsement from a House colleague.

"I know Michele is right on the issues that are important to conservatives across the country and I know she won't back off," Franks said in a statement. "I have seen her at work in Washington, standing firm on key issues like Obamacare, the debt ceiling, and TARP," he continued, referring to the Troubled Asset Relief Program commonly known as the 2008 bank bailout.

While Franks is the first member of Congress to endorse Bachmann, several legislators have lined up behind other candidates. According to a tally from the Hill, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had as many as 46 congressional endorsements as of Tuesday. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has the second largest list of endorsements at 13.

Bachmann's campaign has been struggling in recent months; she currently receives single-digit support in most Republican polls.

Franks is a hardline conservative who was one of the founding members of the House Tea Party Caucus, which Bachmann chairs. Coincidentally, Bachmann also today announced she was naming a Tea Party Outreach Director to her staff: Ryan Rhodes, chairman of the Iowa Tea Party. Rhodes gained notoriety by confronting President Obama during a town hall meeting over the summer.