Former President Donald Trump is reportedly debating whether to travel to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., next week to see if he can unite the Republican caucus as they prepare to nominate a new speaker of the House.
The former president declined to weigh in much when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) decided to file a motion to vacate the speakership which led to the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — the first time in U.S. history that a House speaker has been removed.
Trump had previously referred to McCarthy as “my Kevin,” but the most that he would say during the debacle was that Republicans should not be “fighting among themselves.”
While there were rumors that he could be interested in the position, sources suggested to The Messenger that he was more interested in eliminating feuds within the party.
“I just don’t know if he’s going to do it,” one source said. “Sometimes he believes he should go. Other times he’s telling people it might be a bad idea.”
The House has never elected a speaker from outside of Congress, even though being a member is not a constitutional requirement.
Because House Republicans have a razor-thin majority, the former president would have to receive a near-unanimous vote from House Republicans, which could be difficult even though many in the House still support him.
Politico noted that there could be issues with Trump becoming speaker because the Republican Party’s own conference rules dictate that GOP leaders are required to step down “if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.” Trump currently faces 91 felony counts spread across four indictments.
The Republican Party rules are in line with policies that Democrats also have. Last month, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was required to step down as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee after being charged with multiple felonies stemming from an alleged bribery scheme.
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