Florida Congressman Byron Donalds announces he will run to become the first African-American Speaker of the House of Representatives in history as Republicans scramble to find a candidate after dumping Jim Jordan

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds has announced he is running to become the first African-American Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The 44-year-old politician, who supported Donald Trump’s bid for the White House in 2024, shared the news of his candidacy on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

“I look forward to securing the votes of a majority of my Republican colleagues to become the first African American Speaker, the first Speaker of the great state of Florida and the next Speaker of the 118th Congress,” he said.

It comes after Republicans voted out Jim Jordan as House candidate after he tried (and failed) three times to gain enough support to become leader of the Republican Party.

There has been a battle over who should lead the House of Representatives after Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a historic vote on October 3.

Donalds’ office confirmed his candidacy on Friday evening and shared a statement from the politician on X.

“Tonight I am announcing my candidacy for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,” he said.

“My sole focus will be securing our border, responsibly funding our government, advancing a conservative vision for the House of Representatives and the American people, and expanding our Republican majority.

“As a member of this conference, I have seen firsthand the dedication of my colleagues to improving the lives of their constituents and the future of America.

‘We come from different walks of life, but share the common pursuit of a more perfect union.

“As speaker, every voice in our conference will be at the table to ensure our unity and consensus on the legislative battles we face.”

He continued, “Under my leadership, the House will lead to achieve a simple goal: putting the American people first, keeping them safe and making their lives easier.

‘No titles are given. They are deserved.’

The announcement came after Jordan was dropped as a candidate for Republican speaker of the House of Representatives after failing to get enough votes for a third time.

He was ousted by 86 to 112 in a closed-door vote on Friday afternoon. The House recessed after the vote and won’t be back until 6 p.m. ET on Monday for another candidates forum.

Jordan’s supporters denounced that the vote was conducted blindly, meaning Jordan and its allies will not see who voted him out.

Having been without a speaker for seventeen days, the House of Representatives is paralyzed and unable to conduct business in a month until the government shuts down again.

‘I told the conference that it was an honor to be selected as a speaker. But I thought it was important that we all – we all know an answer to the question: do they want me to continue in that role? And so we asked them if they had made a decision,” Jordan said after the meeting where the vote took place.

‘I’m going back to work too. We have several statements ready for the Judiciary Committee next week,” he continued. ‘But it is important that we unite. Let’s – let’s find out who that person is, get behind him and get to work for the American people.”

Immediately after the vote, Republicans were at the starting line and eager to join the battle for the top job in the House of Representatives.

House Whip Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican, is calling other members to tell them he is running for the job, a source familiar told DailyMail.com.

McCarthy endorsed Emmer for the job. ‘He’s the right person for the job. He can unite the conference. He understands the dynamics of the conference.’

Reps. Kevin Hern, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Republican Austin Scott of Georgia and Republican Jack Bergman of Michigan have said they are running for the job, as have GOP Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson and Texas Rep. Pete Sessions.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, chairman of the Budget Committee, is also considering a run, as are Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green and Texas GOP Rep. Roger Williams.

Steve Scalise, the favorite to become the next Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, sensationally dropped out of the race on October 12.

He had won an election among members of his party to become their candidate for chairman after McCarthy was spectacularly removed from his role.

But with Republicans’ slim majority, Scalise could only afford to lose the support of four members of his own party in a House-wide vote to confirm him as chairman.

About 20 of his Republican colleagues indicated they would oppose him if there was a vote in the full House, so he withdrew.

It shows there is no end in sight to the disarray among Republicans in the House of Representatives, more than two weeks after McCarthy became the first speaker in history to be impeached.

The House of Representatives is currently led by interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, who has little power to bring up legislation in the House of Representatives and has reportedly threatened to resign.