A handful of pro-Trump House Republicans want former President Donald Trump as the next House speaker in the wake of the earthquake political ouster of now-former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy became speaker last January following a 15-vote ordeal. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz joined with seven other Republicans and the entire Democratic caucus to oust McCarthy.
House rules do not require the speaker to be a sitting member of Congress. The idea of Trump as House speaker has been floated for years in pro-Trump circles.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, told The Guardian, “This week, when the US House of Representatives reconvenes, my first order of business will be to nominate Donald J Trump for speaker of the US House of Representatives. President Trump, the greatest president of my lifetime, has a proven record of putting America first and will make the House great again.”
Nehls voted against vacating the chair and dumping McCarthy as speaker.
MTG Backs Trump for Speaker
She is being seconded by House GOP gadfly Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who emerged as a strong backer of McCarthy following last January’s marathon battle for the speaker’s chair.
“I’m supporting President Donald J. Trump to be the next Speaker of the House! He has a proven four year record of putting America First and implementing the policies the American people want. President Trump is the man for the job!” Taylor-Greene wrote in a post on X.
Taylor-Greene vowed that if Trump becomes speaker he would end the war in Ukraine, secure the border, end politically weaponized government, etc., while ignoring the fact that the Executive Branch has responsibility for such activities, not Congress.
A Speaker Trump would have his work cut out for him because as he proved during his presidency he had trouble working with Congress.
Jim Jordan Declares Speaker Candidacy
So far, other candidates have arisen including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who has long been a leader among House conservatives since before Trump got into politics. Jordan declared his candidacy on Wednesday. He has been a central figure in the House impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden and likely would continue many of McCarthy’s policies.
“The American people have entrusted us to lead in the House of Representatives. Our majority has had success in the first nine months of the 118th Congress. We should be proud of what we have achieved together in these divided times,” Jordan said in a press statement. “We agreed at the beginning of the Congress that there are three fundamental things the House must do: pass the bills that need to be passed, do the oversight, and rein in the spending. Working with Chairman Green and our leadership, I helped to deliver the most significant legislative accomplishment this Congress: the strongest immigration and border enforcement bill ever.”
Jordan continues, “With other committee chairs and the members of the Judiciary Committee, I am doing the oversight and holding the Administration accountable. And I have been among the leaders in pushing for fiscal discipline my entire career … But no matter what we do, we must do it together as a conference. I respectfully ask for your support for Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Scalise Seeks Support
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also has reportedly been seeking support to become the next speaker. Those close to the ousted speaker say that Scalise has the clearest path to victory among Republicans. Some worry about his health considering his battle with cancer in recent years.
Scalise notably was shot during a baseball practice in 2017.
“While we need to be realistic about what can be achieved, if we stay united, we can preserve leverage for the House to secure tangible wins in our impending policy fights. The task before us is not without its challenges, but I believe in this Conference and our ability to come together and achieve great things,” Scalise said in a statement announcing his intent to run for speaker.
Trump is a fanciful choice of a small minority. The real battle will be between Scalise and Jordan who are both well-respected in the Republican Conference.
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
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