Donald Trump sees resurgence in Republican support – he remains party's 2024 favourite

Donald Trump is seeing a resurgence in support among Republican voters as senior figures in the party offered him an olive branch and urged him to join the fight to win back control of the US Senate next year.

A poll showed 59 per cent of Republicans want Mr Trump to play a major role in the party in the future.

That was an 18-point jump since a similar Politico/Morning Consult poll taken the day after the US Capitol riot on Jan 6.

Mr Trump's approval rating among Republicans has gone back up to 81 per cent, having slipped to 74 per cent three weeks ago.

It came as a Democrat congressman sued Mr Trump in a civilian court, seeking damages over the riot.

The case was brought by Bennie Thompson, who chairs the homeland security committee, against Mr Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and extremist groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

It was brought under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which prohibits violence intended to stop Congress doing its constitutional duty.

Joe Biden supported the right to "take steps through the judicial process," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

A spokesperson for Mr Trump responded: "He has been acquitted in the Democrats' latest impeachment witch hunt and the facts are irrefutable."

The prosecution case at the impeachment trial, which was widely regarded as highly professional and effective, appeared not to have impacted Mr Trump's standing with Republican voters.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, repeated criticisms he made of Mr Trump in the wake of the trial.

He told the Wall Street Journal that Mr Trump's actions were "unconscionable" and he "bears moral responsibility" after "shouting unhinged falsehoods into the world’s largest megaphone".

But Mr McConnell also said Mr Trump could play a "constructive" role in winning back the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections.

Mr Trump has indicated he will support candidates in Republican primary races who back his agenda.

Mr McConnell said: "I don’t rule out the prospect that he [Mr Trump] may well be supporting good candidates.

"I’m not assuming that, to the extent the former president wants to continue to be involved, he won’t be a constructive part of the process."

He added: "I personally don’t care what kind of Republican they [the candidates] are, what kind of lane they consider themselves in. What I care about is electability."

His decision to speak to the Wall Street Journal was also seen as a move to reassure wealthy donors that the party was not headed for a split between pro- and anti-Trump factions.

Mr Trump's acquittal means he is free to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

The Politico/Morning Consult poll found, if that contest was held today, Mr Trump would win 53 per cent of the vote, making him a huge favourite.

Mike Pence was on 12 per cent and everyone else in low single digits.

Mr Biden was on Tuesday night due to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a town hall event, his first face-to-face meeting with voters since his inauguration.

He was seeking to make the case for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, which Republicans have said is too expensive.

Meanwhile, Ron Johnson, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, said he did not think the Capitol riot seemed like "an armed insurrection" and blamed "agitators".

Mr Johnson said: “This will get me in trouble, but I don’t care, The group of people that supported Trump, the hundreds of thousands of people who attended those Trump rallies, those are the people that love this country. They never would have done what happened on Jan 6.

"That is a group of people that love freedom. That’s a group of people we need to unify and keep on our side."

A Republican congressman who voted to impeach Mr Trump was disowned by 11 members of his extended family.

In a letter they accused Adam Kinzinger of joining the "devil's army".

The relatives wrote: "Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and the Lord! You have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name!"