Trump Will Reportedly Endorse Jim Jordan For Speaker

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Former President Donald Trump will endorse Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to be the next speaker of the House, according to Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), who relayed the news on Thursday night.

Jordan is a longtime ally of Trump, who is under criminal indictment in four jurisdictions. The former president is also the runaway frontrunner to win the Republican presidential nomination.

The speakership became vacant on Tuesday with the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who ran afoul of right members of his conference – one of whom filed a motion to vacate the chair, thus triggering a vote in the House. The eight joined 208 Democrats in voting to remove McCarthy.

Since then, Trump has teased himself as the next speaker, albeit “for a short period of time” if necessary. That possibility has miffed some House Republicans and elated others.

“Just had a great conversation with President Trump about the Speaker’s race,” Nehls tweeted. “He is endorsing Jim Jordan, and I believe Congress should listen to the leader of our party. I fully support Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House.”

Trump has not personally posted any endorsements, but assuming Nehls is correct, Trump’s green-lighting of Jordan may signal the former president is not particularly serious about taking on the role himself. It is also not clear if his stamp of approval will be enough to vault Jordan ahead of Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who is also contending for the position. It is worth noting that Trump maintains a hammerlock on the Republican Party, especially its lawmakers in the House.