Former US president Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he is ready to contest for the position of the House speaker after his fellow Republican lawmaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job by a contingent of hard-right conservatives from his own party in an unprecedented showdown in US history.
According to the visual shared by X (formerly Twitter) user Collin Rugg on his social media platform, the former president said that he would be ready for the new role while confirming from the New York courthouse that he has been asked about becoming the House Speaker.
"All I can say is we'll do whatever's best for the country and for the Republican Party. A lot of people have asked me about it… My focus is totally on [the election]. If I can help them during the process, I would do it,” Trump said.
{{/usCountry}}"All I can say is we'll do whatever's best for the country and for the Republican Party. A lot of people have asked me about it… My focus is totally on [the election]. If I can help them during the process, I would do it,” Trump said.
{{/usCountry}}According to the Fox News report, Texas Representative Troy Nehls has said in a statement that he would place Donald J. Trump's name for Speaker of the US House of Representatives."
Interestingly, the US Constitution allows Trump to replace McCarthy, as it does not stipulate that the Speaker be an incumbent member of the House, but his party rules stating that anyone under indictment for serious charges won't be able to take up any House leadership role, barres him from contesting for the post.
Those rules would need to be changed for Trump as he is facing four felony indictments and 91 separate counts. “A lot of people have asked me about it,” Trump told reporters. “But we’ve got some great people in the Republican party that could do a great job as speaker.”
He didn’t reject the idea out of hand but said he’s focused on reclaiming the White House. Nevertheless his name emerged after House Republicans huddled behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss a replacement for the deposed Kevin McCarthy.
In the US, every one of the 55 people who have served as speaker of the House over the past 234 years has been an elected representative. But to become the House Speaker, Trump will be expected to garner 218 votes to win the post and it is unlikely any Democrat will come out to support him.
Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the position on Wednesday after Florida congressman and Trump supporter Matt Gaetz moved the motion to oust McCarthy. It was passed by 11 Republicans and all the Democrats in the House. The vote closed, 216-210, with the presiding officer declaring office of the speaker ‘hereby stands vacant.’
(With inputs from agencies)