Donald Trump claimed that “lots of people” have asked him to run for House speaker following the ouster of Rep Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
The former president addressed the speculation as he was heading into court in New York on Wednesday for the continuation of his civil fraud trial.
“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,” Mr Trump told the press.
It remains unclear who might be able to get 218 votes in the House to grasp the speaker’s gavel. Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH) said on Wednesday that he was running for speaker and it has been reported that Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) is reaching out to fellow members of the conference to see if he can muster the support needed.
But it’s not clear that either of them can reach the required number of votes.
“We have some great, great people,” Mr Trump said.
“Would you take the job?” a reporter asked.
”A lot of people have asked me about it,” Mr Trump said but emphasised that he’s focused on the presidential campaign.
“Now my focus is totally on that – if I can help them during the process, I will do it,” he added. “But we have some great people in the Republican Party that could do a great job as speaker”.
When Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was trying to prevent Mr McCarthy from getting the gavel in January, he voted for Mr Trump in the seventh round of voting before Mr McCarthy finally managed to get the job he coveted for years on the 15th ballot.
While Mr Trump is technically eligible to replace Mr McCarthy, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be offered, let alone accept, the post.
On Tuesday, Mr Gaetz succeeded in having Mr McCarthy ousted as speaker of the House – bringing to an end a tenure of less than nine months.
The House of Representatives can elect anyone to be speaker, regardless if that person is a member of the chamber or not. While the Constitution doesn’t state that the speaker has to be a member of the House, a non-member has never been elected to the role.
The Constitution only states that legislators “shall choose their Speaker and other Officers”.
Fox News host Sean Hannity said during his broadcast on Tuesday night that “sources are telling me that some Republicans have been in contact with and have started an effort to draft former President Donald Trump to be the next speaker and I have been told that President Trump might be open to helping the Republican party at least in the short term if necessary”.
In reaction to Mr Hannity’s suggestion, Democratic Rep Sean Casten wrote on X: “I would direct your attention to rule 26(a) of the House Republican Conference rules for the 118th Congress.”
Mr Casten added a screenshot of “Rule 26 – Temporary Step Aside of a Member of Leadership who is Indicted”.
“A member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed,” it stated.
Mr Casten also noted that “this language substantially mirrors language in House rule XXIII (10)”.That rule states that “a Member ... who has been convicted by a court of record for the commission of a crime for which a sentence of two or more years’ imprisonment may be imposed should refrain from participation in the business of each committee”.
