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Donald Trump is making the rounds on Capitol Hill听Thursday, searching for unity with Republican leaders, including reluctant House Speaker Paul Ryan. But for some GOP lawmakers, backing the brash billionaire 鈥� or rather, not backing him 鈥� is more than a matter of agreeing on tax cuts or trade, immigration or national security.

鈥淚 will not support Mr. Trump,鈥� Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R) of Florida has told the CBS affiliate in Miami. 鈥淭hat is not a political decision; that is a moral decision.鈥澨�

It鈥檚 hard to know how many of his colleagues share this view. Congressman Curbelo, who caucuses with the pragmatic wing of the conference, says 鈥渁 lot鈥� of Republicans have such concerns, some expressing it publicly and others privately.听On Tuesday, Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, former speechwriter to President George W. Bush, articulated the moral dimension in a commentary:

鈥淭hose who support Trump, no matter how reluctantly, have crossed a moral boundary. They are standing with a leader who encourages prejudice and despises the weak.听They are aiding the transformation of a party formed by Lincoln's blazing vision of equality into a party of white resentment. Those who find this one of the normal, everyday compromises of politics have truly lost their way.鈥�

Those are stiff words, and interviews with several Republican lawmakers in advance of Trump鈥檚 visit found that some did not agree with them. Some say Hillary Clinton is also an immoral choice, and for that reason, they鈥檙e reluctantly backing Trump. Others feel uncomfortable making a moral judgment at all, or don鈥檛 see this as a moral choice.听

But 鈥減ersonal and policy morality are always involved in the selection of our leaders,鈥� says the听Rev. James Weiss, a听professor of ethics at Boston College.听Personal morality affects public behavior, and public policy always has a moral dimension 鈥� whether lawmakers are dealing with abortion, criminal justice, welfare, medical care, or even trade and taxes, he adds.

鈥淭he question is never whether morality plays a role, it鈥檚 to what extent it does,鈥� Reverend Weiss says.听

Voters 鈥� and politicians 鈥� will differ on that judgment.

Rejection, acceptance, and redemption

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R) of Kansas also has moral issues with Trump.听The Kansan, a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, questions Trump鈥檚 positions on 鈥渓ife, family, and marriage,鈥� and so do a lot of other Republicans, he says. As a parent, he also worries about Trump鈥檚 language.听

鈥淚 can鈥檛 get comfortable with a candidate if I鈥檓 worried about what he鈥檒l say [on TV] in front of my 9-year-old that鈥檚 vulgar and crass.鈥�

He says he鈥檚 still sticking with Sen. Ted Cruz, even though the Texas Republican dropped out of the race last week after Trump took must-win Indiana.听

In a last-ditch effort to rescue his campaign in the Hoosier state, Mr. Cruz lashed into Trump, calling him a 鈥渟erial philanderer,鈥� among other things. Trump has been open, even bragging, about his sexual exploits. He told reporters back in December that his 鈥溙齠or reporters, even as he鈥檚 made much of Bill Clinton鈥檚 womanizing.听

But other Republicans see things differently. Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona, one of the most conservative members in the House, says he understands Curbelo鈥檚 perspective. Curbelo says he views both Trump and Mrs. Clinton as dishonest, and will vote for neither. He points out that there are typically 10 candidates for president on a Florida ballot.

But Congressman Franks argues that the choice is 鈥渂inary.鈥� And when the antiabortion lawmaker compares Trump with Clinton on moral principles, on respect for fellow human beings, on protecting the Constitution, and protecting the republic 鈥渢o keep it intact for future generations鈥� 鈥� on all those fronts 鈥渢here is no contest. Clinton will bring destruction to us in all of those areas, whereas Mr. Trump might.鈥�

Franks was one of Trump鈥檚 most vociferous opponents in the primary. As a conservative, he says, he 鈥渃annot trust him to do the right thing.鈥� But he knows, he said Wednesday, 鈥渢hat I can deeply trust Hillary Clinton to do the wrong thing every time.鈥� And so if it comes down to a vote between Trump and Clinton, he will choose Trump and urge others to do the same.

On the Senate side, another deep skeptic of Trump, moderate Republican Susan Collins of Maine, says she wouldn鈥檛 sit in judgment of the presumed nominee. She has repeatedly called on him to stop insulting people, to make amends with the Muslim community and others whom he has alienated. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not going to judge him as a human being.鈥� Indeed, she has not foreclosed the possibility of eventually supporting him.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah, ducking into an elevator, explained that 鈥淚鈥檓 a great believer in redemption, and people being able to change their lives, and hopefully, he鈥檒l fit that category.鈥澨�

Trump as a national barometer听

But that鈥檚 a na茂ve approach when it comes to selecting a political leader, Reverend Weiss suggests. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 vote for people hoping they鈥檒l change any more than we should marry them thinking they should change.鈥�

Much more on target, Weiss says, is the view of Sen. James Lankford (R) of Oklahoma, who says that politicians reflect the values of the country.听

Before Senator Lankford came to Congress, he was the director of student ministry at the Baptist Convention of Oklahoma and of the Falls Creek Youth Camp, the largest youth camp in the country.

鈥淭he moral dimension is obviously extremely important to me personally,鈥� he said in a brief interview on Wednesday. But he said that people mistakenly 鈥渨ant to denote, and say that political leaders carry all the moral baggage and all the moral weight of the country.鈥� It鈥檚 the opposite, he says. Leaders such as Clinton and Trump 鈥渁re a barometer for where we are as a country and what we value.鈥�

Washington can鈥檛 fix wayward values in the nation, he says, the nation fixes Washington.

For some Democrats, Trump is just a reflection of Republican values in recent years.

鈥淪ome Republicans 鈥� including members of their leadership 鈥� have said they cannot support the vile rhetoric and radical proposals of the Republican front-runner,鈥澨齭aid House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D) of California in a press conference Wednesday.听鈥淏ut year after year, Republicans have enthusiastically turned their intolerance and their discrimination into legislation ... whether it鈥檚 insulting President Obama, women, immigrants, Muslims, LGBT Americans, there鈥檚 not a dime鈥檚 worth of difference between what Donald Trump says and what the House Republicans have been saying all along.鈥�

Lankford naturally sees the issue differently.听

Like other Republicans, Lankford does a side-by-side with Clinton. If it comes to that choice, he says, he will side with Trump.

[Editor's note:听Representative Huelskamp's stance toward Trump has been further clarified from the original version.]听