Former President Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday that he has made calls about possibly being the next speaker of the House of Representatives, but a legal battle weighing on the GOP giant may land him on the campaign trail instead of Capitol Hill.
While Trump, 77, has been considered the preferred speaker choice for at least two House members, a little-known House GOP rule that bars those with criminal convictions from serving in the role could make him ineligible for the post.
“A member of the Republican Leadership shall resign if charged with a felony punishable by imprisonment of two years or more,” the Republican Conference Rules from the 118th Congress stated.
Trump faces a total of 91 charges in four criminal cases – and up to 712 years and six months in prison if convicted of all.
The rules could be changed to make way for Speaker Trump. However, with his freedom potentially at stake and a re-election fight against President Biden possibly on the cards, it seems unlikely, for now, that the former commander-in-chief will pick up the gavel.
House GOP rules bar members of the leadership who have been indicted and face more than two years in prison. AP
“A lot of people have called me about the speakers. All I can say is we will do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party,” Trump told reporters Wednesday outside the Manhattan courtroom where his civil fraud trial is underway.
The 2024 GOP presidential front-runner has not ruled out the idea of being the speaker outright but insists that he is focused on his White House aspirations.
“My full focus is on being president,” Trump said, noting that there are other “great people” in the GOP who could handle the job.
As speaker, Trump will be responsible for such duties as administering the oath of office to House members, authorizing members to speak on the floor, counting and declaring votes, assigning members to committees, sending legislation to committees and signing bills and resolutions. approved in the House.
“You have to be inside the institution to understand how it works,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has not publicly endorsed anyone to replace him, told reporters Tuesday night.
House rules allow speakers who are not currently members of Congress. C-SPAN via Reuters
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, while acknowledging that Trump would be “great” as House speaker, said Tuesday that he would prefer to see him in the Oval Office after the 2024 election.
“I want him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” Jordan (R-Ohio) told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “But if he wants to be a speaker, that’s fine too.”
Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a vocal critic of the former president and one of the leading contenders for the 2024 presidency, dismissed Speaker Trump’s idea as a joke Wednesday.
“Really, we want a convicted felon to be president of the US?” Christie, 61, told CNBC. “And you had some comedian on the Hill yesterday saying let’s make him talk?”
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Troy Nehls (R-Texas) have been the most vocal supporters of Trump for speaker, with the former saying Trump is “the only candidate” he currently supports, and the last vowed to nominate him.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who introduced the measure to dethrone McCarthy, has also said that “Speaker Trump has a great ring to it.”
Councilors have been advised that a vote for a new speaker will not be held until next week. Individuals who do not serve in Congress, such as Trump, are eligible to receive votes.
Trump received one vote for speaker in January on the seventh, eighth and eleventh ballots, despite only being nominated on the eleventh ballot by Gaetz.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
