Can Trump be the next speaker of the House? These Republicans say they’re backing him
House Speaker Donald Trump?
Now that there’s an opening, a handful of House Republicans are calling for it and the former president is both publicly and privately toying with the idea.
“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, 77, told reporters Wednesday outside the Manhattan courtroom where his civil fraud trial is ongoing.
“My total focus is on being president,” Trump added, noting that there are other “great people” in the GOP who could handle the job.
However, a Republican House aide told The Post Wednesday that the GOP kingpin is indeed “interested in the job.”
While the speaker of the House doesn’t technically have to be a sitting member of Congress, having a non-member fill the role — let alone a former president — would be unprecedented.
Moreover, there are House rules in place restricting those with felony indictments from serving in the role.
“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,” the Conference Rules of the 118th Congress say.
Trump has 91 criminal counts pending against him spanning four indictments, with potential penalties totaling more than 400 years behind bars.
Those rules could be tweaked, but having to fend off those legal battles while simultaneously juggling a gig as a speaker could prove to be challenging even for someone with Trump’s self-proclaimed dynamism.
Still, the prospect of Trump negotiating government spending with his potential 2024 rival President Biden is proving to be quite alluring to some Republicans.
Rep. Troy Nehls
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Rep. Jim Jordan
Rep. Matt Gaetz
Rep. Kevin McCarthy
https://nypost.com/2023/10/04/can-trump-become-speaker-a-handful-of-republicans-are-backing-him/
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