Congressman Insists ‘It Will Not Be a Problem’ For Indicted Trump to Become House Speaker: ‘We Can Change the Rules at Any Time’
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) assured Newsmax host Eric Bolling that former President Donald Trump could become speaker of the House while under felony indictment, despite claims to the contrary, because House Republicans “can change the rules at any time.”
During an appearance on Newsmax’s The Balance on Thursday, Steube said:
How awesome would it be for President Trump to be the leader of the House and negotiate with Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden spending policies from a conservative majority House? I can’t think of somebody that would be better to do it. I fully support the notion, I especially support it if we can’t come together as a conference. I know Jim Jordan’s running, I know Steve Scalise is running. If they both can’t get 218, we need to have somebody that can unify our conference, even if it’s for the 45 days, 60 days that we’re in this trying to pass this funding issue. We need to have somebody that can unite the party, everybody can get behind, and wouldn’t it just be sweet to all these Democrats who kicked out our former speaker, that they got rid of Kevin McCarthy and now they have to deal with President Trump?
Steube predicted that the only Republicans who might not support a Trump speakership would be those in Democratic-leaning districts, though he noted that they would risk being primaried if they opted to vote no.
“I’ve even seen quotes from Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise that if Trump for some reason decided to do it, they would support it,” Steube told Bolling. “What better person on our team to come in, unify the party, and stick it to the Democrats, even if it’s for a short period of time?”
After Bolling asked the congressman whether Trump could be prevented from becoming speaker due to a House rule that prohibits anyone under felony indictment from running, Steube said:
I will nip that in the bud right now because I’ve seen Democrats tweeting that back at me. First of all, Trump wouldn’t be a member of the House, so at the current moment rules don’t apply to him because he’s not a member of the House, and only the rules apply to a member of the House. And I can guarantee you that if that were to happen, we are in the majority, we can change the rules at any time, there are things that we can do to change the rules, and it will not be a problem.
Several House Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), have expressed support for a Trump speakership following the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) this week, and Trump has indicated that he would be open to the idea.
On Wednesday, Trump shared several Truth Social posts endorsing him for speaker of the House and posted a photo of himself holding the speaker’s gavel.
However, on Thursday evening, Trump announced his endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for speaker.
Watch above via Newsmax.
