Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to be the next speaker of the house shortly after midnight E.T. on Friday in a post to Truth Social. The endorsement will likely put to rest any idea that Trump would run for the position himself after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the job earlier this week.
“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District. Respected by all, he is now Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. As President, I had the honor of presenting Jim with our Country’s highest civilian award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in a very long and rambling post.
Trump went on to tout Jordan’s time as in college wrestling and pointed out the representative’s attitudes on guns and the U.S.-Mexico border before giving his explicit endorsement.
“Jim, his wife, Polly, & family are outstanding – He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!” Trump wrote.
Rep. McCarthy was kicked out as speaker on Tuesday, lasting just nine months on the job, after rival Republican Matt Gaetz invoked a Motion to Vacate at the U.S. House, insisting McCarthy wasn’t conservative in his negotiations with President Joe Biden and other Democrats.
After McCarthy’s ouster, the House went into recess until next week, when Republican members are expected to convene and hear formal pitches from people who want the job. Until tonight, Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise were considered the two favorites for the position, but there were a number of people who floated the idea of Trump becoming speaker since U.S. House rules don’t state that the speaker must be a member of Congress. Notably, Gaetz nominated Trump to be speaker back in January before McCarthy got the position.
That long-shot attempt to nominate Trump will likely fade away, despite getting endorsements from far-right figures like Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia. Trump himself even shared a doctored image of himself as Speaker of the House as recently as Wednesday on Truth Social, fanning the flames of speculation about whether he really would try to take the role. Fox News was the first to report on Wednesday night that Trump was mulling an endorsement of Jordan.
It’s unclear whether Scalise will even toss his hat in the ring now that Trump—still the perceived yet unofficial leader of the Republican Party—has endorsed Jordan. Scalise is also undergoing treatment for cancer which may or may not play a role in his decision, as many political pundits have pointed out.
One thing we know for sure: Trump is still happy to break news over at Truth Social, a platform that doesn’t have much going on aside from Trump’s own posts. But as long as the former president has a microphone that nobody can turn off, he seems happy to stay there.
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