Former President Donald Trump is considering a visit to the Capitol next week where he is open to pitching himself as a speaker candidate, according to a Republican familiar with internal discussions.
If it happens, Trump would come speak to the House GOP sometime before lawmakers’ internal speaker election, which is set to happen on Wednesday, that person said. A final decision hasn’t yet been made. The full GOP will meet Tuesday for an internal “candidate forum.”
It’s not clear if Trump — the frontrunner in the 2024 presidential primary — would actually run for speaker. Winning would require near-unanimity from the House GOP, a difficult hurdle for the controversial former president. One of his closest Hill allies, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, is already in the race. (Jordan told NBC that he discussed his speakership bid with Trump this week.)
It remains a longshot idea: The House has never elected a speaker who wasn’t a member of Congress, though it is not technically a constitutional requirement. Trump could also run into problems with the GOP’s own conference rules, which state a member of GOP leadership is required to step aside “if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.”
Can you believe it???
Still, the former president has openly flirted with the idea of becoming GOP speaker in the days since Kevin McCarthy’s fall. And several members, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga), have backed the idea.
Trump: ‘A lot of people have been calling me about speaker’
“A lot of people have been calling me about speaker. All I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.
He’s not going to do it, of course. It’s absurd. He’s just looking for attention and wants everyone to see he’s beloved by the GOP establishment.
We are living through something and I can’t tell from day to day if it’s tragedy or farce. I guess it’s probably both.