Chris Kromm: The South's Political Clout Is Rising Under Trump

We look at the increasing power of states in the South to shape national politics. Our guest, Chris Kromm, writes in his latest piece that Southern states gave 160 Electoral College votes to Trump, more than half of the 306 total he won. "Southern Republicans have emerged as key figures in the new administration and the GOP-controlled Congress, giving Southern states growing influence in shaping the nation’s political agenda," Kromm writes. Many Republicans from the South have been confirmed in senior Cabinet positions, including South Carolina’s Mick Mulvaney as director of the Office of Management and Budget, Rick Perry from Texas as energy secretary, Alabama’s Jeff Sessions as attorney general and former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson of Texas as secretary of state.