Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he was willing to step in and serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives for up to 90 days to help unite a Republican Party in disarray following the chaotic impeachment of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
The former president is already expected to wade into the drama on Capitol Hill next week by appearing at a candidates forum on Tuesday for the race for speaker of the House of Representatives.
Trump – who is running for president again – spoke to Fox News Digital and said he would be open to briefly taking on the job himself.
“I was asked to speak as a unifying factor because I have so many friends in Congress,” Trump said. “If they don’t get the vote, they’ve asked me if I would consider taking over as chairman until they find someone for the longer term because I’m running for president.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives ranks third after the White House in the order of presidential succession.
Mr Speaker? Former President Trump posted a photo of himself presiding over the House – after several Republicans in the House of Representatives mentioned his name as speaker
Trump addresses the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives and delivers his State of the Union address in February 2019
Trump’s appearance in Washington is expected after he makes a presidential campaign stop in New Hampshire on Monday and before he headlines a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday.
Trump was already teasing about his work.
He posted a meme of himself sitting in the speaker’s chair while holding a giant gavel on Wednesday after some allies in the House of Representatives put his name forward.
If Trump decides to endorse a candidate in the race, it could be a boon for firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan — a close ally who has led the fight against the Justice Department’s so-called “weaponization” against Trump from the House of Representatives .
Jordan is running for the job against No. 2 Republican Steve Scalise, majority leader, after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the job Monday.
But Trump could technically become speaker, because there is no requirement for the speaker to be a member of the House of Representatives.
“If Trump becomes Speaker of the House of Representatives, the House Chamber will be a Trump rally every day!!” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X. “It would be the House of MAGA!!!”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said sarcastically, “No thanks, we’re fine. We have already seen a Trump rally at the Capitol.”
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said he believes Trump’s arrival at the forum will help “unify” Republicans around a candidate.
“I think he’s going to come in and unite us, and tell us we have to stand behind someone else.”
The GOP conference, currently led by interim chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., must agree to allow Trump to attend.
While they are unlikely to ban the party’s leader from the forum, his presence will likely be met with hushed groans from Republicans seeking to restore order in the House of Representatives.
“Trump at the candidate forum would only make a tumultuous situation worse,” a senior House Republican aide told DailyMail.com. “Anyone who thinks they have any chance of becoming speaker is a non-serious legislator who is only interested in media attention and social media engagement.
And under House GOP conference rules, no one charged with a crime can lead.
Trump has been indicted four times.
However, there is a chance that Trump could try to be speaker but not a member of the House GOP conference.
It’s almost impossible he’ll ever be elected chairman and he has said he’s focused on the presidential race.
Members of the House of Representatives have been sent home to ‘cool off’ until Tuesday, when they will return for a contentious debate over who should lead the House of Representatives.
Whoever gets the job will be tasked with presiding over a four-vote majority in a conference where a succession of leaders have left on difficult terms.
McCarthy was impeached in a historic vote on a motion to evict filed by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Gaetz is a Trump loyalist who said he spoke to Trump by phone during McCarthy’s final days and suggested Trump supported his efforts.
But Trump also posted a message on social media asking why Republicans were fighting each other instead of President Biden, which seemed to urge them to call it quits.
“Why are the Republicans always fighting among themselves, why don’t they fight the radical left Democrats who are destroying our country?” Trump posted.
Eight Republicans sided with the entire Democratic caucus to oust their leader, making McCarthy the shortest-lived speaker in 140 years and the first ever to be ousted midway through his term.