A group of Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have expressed support for former President Donald Trump becoming the interim speaker of the House in the aftermath of the vote to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to say that Trump “is the leader of the Republican Party and the only person we can trust to Save America.”
“I’m going into this next speakers’ race, and the only candidate I’m supporting is Donald John Trump because Washington D.C. needs to be reminded. This town needs to wake up and accept the fact that Republican voters all over the country want him back in the White House,” she said.
“The only candidate for Speaker I am currently supporting is President Donald J. Trump. He will end the war in Ukraine. He will secure the border. He will end the politically weaponized government. He will make America energy independent again. He will pass my bill to stop transgender surgeries on kids and keep men out of women’s sports. He will support our military and police. And so much more!” reiterated Greene in another post.
“He has a proven 4 year record as President of the United States of America. He received a record number of Republican votes of any Republican Presidential candidate! We can make him Speaker and then elect him President! He will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Texas Congressman Troy Nehls (R-Richmond) also posted on X in support of Trump becoming the next speaker, stating that “Kevin McCarthy will NOT be running again as Speaker. I nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the House.”
On the other hand, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Mansfield) said on Fox News’ Hannity that Trump should focus on his presidential candidacy rather than becoming speaker.
“He’d be great, but actually, I want Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States. If he wants to be speaker, great, but I want him to be president of the United States,” said Jordan. “That’s where we need him.”
Despite the enthusiastic support for Trump to be the next speaker, he has said his eye is on the upcoming presidential election.
“My focus is totally on [the presidency]. If I can help them during the process, I’ll do it. But we have some great people in the Republican Party that could do a great job as speaker,” Trump said, per Politico.
While Republican members of the House remain split on whether Trump should become the interim speaker, guidelines set forth by the Republican Party would have to be changed to allow him to assume the position.
Current rules dictate that any person facing felony indictments is ineligible to run for the role of Speaker of the House, as reported by Bloomberg. Trump is currently facing four felony indictments.
Although the speaker of the House has traditionally been a member of the majority party, no rule specifically dictates that as a requirement.
The discussion of whether Trump can fill the role follows in the wake of a historic vote on Tuesday to remove McCarthy (R-CA) from the speaker’s chair, the first time a speaker has been removed by a vote from fellow representatives, as reported by The Dallas Express.
In addition to every Democratic member of the House voting to remove McCarthy, eight Republican representatives voted for his removal as well, including Matt Gaetz (FL), Eli Crane (AZ), Andy Biggs (AZ), Ken Buck (CO), Matt Rosendale (MN), Nancy Mace (SC), Tim Burchett (TN), and Bob Good (VA), as previously reported by The Dallas Express.