Byron Donalds Says Trump Is Standing Down in Speakership Fight: ‘We Are Gonna Take Care Of That Business Internally’
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) said former President Donald Trump indicated recently that he will not intervene in the ongoing battle to choose the next speaker of the House.
Republicans whiffed again on Friday after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), whom Trump endorsed, went down in defeat for the third straight ballot. A bid by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) also failed. The House has been without a speaker for three weeks after it removed Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the post.
Donalds has declared his candidacy for the position, along with eight other Republicans, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN).
The Florida lawmaker appeared on Monday’s edition of The Story, where host Martha MacCallum asked about the ongoing drama.
“So, one of the issues that Tom Emmer has is, he’s seen as not a Trump supporter,” she said. “His group is pushing back on that. Will the former president endorse you for this position, Congressman Donalds?”
“Well, I talked to the president a couple days ago,” Donalds said. “And I think where the president is, he’s gonna be focused on getting the [presidential] nomination of our party – something I believe he’s well on his way to do. As far as the speaker of the House is concerned, the Republican members, we are gonna take care of that business internally.”
MacCallum responded by asking if Trump is declining to endorse because his previous favorite flamed out.
“Well, he endorsed Jim Jordan,” she observed. “So, is it sort of a concerted decision not to endorse on this round, that maybe that didn’t work out so well?”
“No, not at all,” Donalds replied. “That is actually not the case. Listen, what happened up here with Jim and even with Steve Scalise was really unfortunate. There were a lot of issues between the members. My hope is those things have been worked out and flushed out.”
Watch above via Fox News.
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