Mr. Ryan described himself as “sickened” by Mr. Trump’s remarks.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, went a step further than many elected Republicans, issuing a statement late Friday night calling on Mr. Trump to express contrition — and potentially offering other Senate Republicans cover to disavow the nominee if he refuses to apologize.

“As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape,” said Mr. McConnell.

While neither Mr. Ryan nor Mr. McConnell immediately withdrew their formal support for Mr. Trump, Republican leaders in Washington held anguished discussions throughout the evening about how the party should proceed with a badly wounded and potentially toxic nominee. They cannot remove their nominee from the ticket, though some hoped that Mr. Trump would decide on his own to step down. NYTime