In case there was any doubt that former President Donald Trump held a lot of sway over House Republicans and the Republican Party in general, watch the story that unfolds in the coming week.
In the race for the next Speaker of the House, Trump has offered his “total and complete” endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan from Ohio.
Jordan put his name in the hat for the job a few days ago and it seems possible, with Trump’s endorsement, the caucus might rally around him as a uniting option, according to Politico:
Donald Trump early Friday announced his endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan to be the next speaker of the House.
“He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” the former president wrote in a post to his social media site, Truth Social, that praised Jordan’s political record as well as his college wrestling achievements.
Trump’s endorsement of Jordan could help sort out what seems likely to be a tumultuous race for the speakership after the ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy earlier this week.
Jordan is a close Trump ally and one of the leading GOP lawmakers investigating President Joe Biden. He would be one of, if not the, most conservative members to hold the speaker’s gavel in recent memory should he be elected.
Both Jordan and Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise have begun accumulating support for the speaker role. Jordan has endorsed Trump’s presidential campaign. Scalise, who has served as majority leader under McCarthy, has not.
None of this is to say Jordan’s a done deal, he might still be considered too much a part of the Freedom Caucus for some to consider an acceptable alternative and space filler for the ousted Kevin McCarthy.
That said, Jordan would be a solid choice for the GOP moving forward. His record speaks for itself on most issues and he would be governing to the right of McCarthy on key issues.
Trump seems to be so interested in the race that he’s considering making a visit to Washington in the coming days as a show of support for Jordan:
News of Jordan’s endorsement came as Trump had earlier teased a visit to Capitol Hill next week and even signaled his interest in serving as an interim speaker of the House on Thursday.
Before news of Jordan’s endorsement, two people familiar with Trump’s thinking said he was “50-50” on actually making the trek to the nation’s capital to appear at a House GOP meeting.
If Trump were to appear, those familiar with his thinking said, it would be to “rally the troops” and “show leadership” over a party that is still stinging from the ouster of McCarthy by a small fraction of the GOP. Trump, they said, would encourage the Republican lawmakers to choose their next speaker fast and avoid another protracted and dramatic battle in the House.
Before the Jordan endorsement, some chatter emerged calling for Trump to run for the role. After all, the Speaker does not have to be a sitting member of the House, though that has been the tradition. Trump himself even said he’d accept the job but wasn’t interested in actually campaigning for it since he’s focused on a run for President.
Trump backed Kevin McCarthy in January basically as a favor for McCarthy’s loyalty to the former president. As of now, it seems like Trump is free to endorse as he wishes, and giving Jordan the nod will pave the way for a lot of support to start coalescing around the Ohio congressman.
However, there’s still a good chance someone like Rep. Steve Scalise, the GOP majority leader, could still emerge as a top contender if Jordan proves to be too divisive.
The House is not set to reconvene until Wednesday (Oct. 11) of next week meaning there are several days of wrangling to happen before a possible vote.
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