Former President Donald Trump is officially backing Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the pugnacious House Judiciary Committee chairman and longtime Trump defender, to succeed Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.
Trump made the announcement a day after he expressed openness to running for House speaker himself, in addition to running for president.
“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site shortly after midnight Friday. “He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!”
Texas Rep. Troy Nehls said Thursday night that Trump had decided to back Jordan’s bid and after Trump said he would be open to serving as interim leader himself if Republicans couldn’t settle on a successor following McCarthy’s stunning ouster.
Even Trump himself expressed openness to becoming an interim speaker. He pointed to the House’s struggle to find other consensus candidates, and so he offered to become speaker for a “30, 60, or 90-day period,” a length of time short enough to let him focus on his presidential campaign.
“I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress,” Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “If they don’t get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the speakership until they get somebody longer-term, because I am running for president.”
Trump concluded, “They have asked me if I would take it for a short period of time for the party, until they come to a conclusion — I’m not doing it because I want to — I will do it if necessary, should they not be able to make their decision.”
In January, some representatives voted for Trump over McCarthy during the speakership elections.
However, Trump looks unlikely to become an interim speaker.
Since April, Trump has been hit with felony indictments, likely disqualifying him from becoming a speaker under the House’s current rules.
Plus, there’s already someone serving as speaker for a “short time.” Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., is serving as acting speaker, and he may be speaker for a “30, 60, or 90-day period,” if the House can’t find someone else to elect.
Naturally, Trump would endorse an existing candidate.
One insider told Fox News Digital that Trump still maintains a respectful relationship with Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, Jordan’s rival candidate for the speaker.
Troy Nehls tweeted later, “Just had a great conversation with President Trump about the Speaker’s race. He is endorsing Jim Jordan, and I believe Congress should listen to the leader of our party.”
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contribtued to this article.