Former President Donald Trump has been put forward as a front runner for the role of Speaker of the House. Should he run for Congress and win.
Speaking to Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy addressed the exact scenario in which Trump would lead Republican representatives as Speaker of the House if they retake the chamber during the 2022 midterms. As the current House Republican leader, McCarthy would be the obvious choice to fill the position.
Trump recently warmed to the idea of running for a House seat to become the potential Speaker after it was suggested by radio host Wayne Allyn Root, who said that his victory would “wipe” Biden out. Trump called the suggestion “so interesting.”
“That’s so interesting,” said Trump. “You know, it’s very interesting.” He added that the suggestion “might be better” than the proposal for him to run for the Senate.
According to the Boston Herald, the Speaker strategy was first floated by former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who told a group of Boston Republicans in February that Trump should run for Congress in 2022.
“We totally get rid of Nancy Pelosi, and the first act of President Trump as Speaker will be to impeach Joe Biden for his illegitimate activities of stealing the presidency,” Bannon said during his speech.
The prospect of Trump replacing Pelosi’s role in a GOP-controlled House of Representatives may seem far fetched – but as Mediaite notes, Trump would not necessarily have to be a member of the House to hold the position.
“Earlier this month, Trump whimsically entertained the idea of running for a House seat to potentially become Speaker. However, he would not need to be a member of the House to hold that position because the Speaker does not necessarily have to be a member of the House. Although every Speaker has been a member of the body, the Constitution merely states, ‘The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers,’ Mediaite noted.
Kilmeade asked McCarthy about the prospect of Trump leading as Speaker of the House, highlighting talk that had been going around Mar-a-Lago.
McCarthy replied, laughing somewhat nervously about the question, that he had spoken to Trump who had voiced his desire to become Speaker. He said:
“You know, I’ve talked to President Trump many times. He tells me he wants to be Speaker and I think he should be President. But most importantly, if you’re worried about the filibuster, the best way to stop it is win the House. You won’t have to worry about the filibuster again, cause those bills won’t get over there.”
And if you work in time and again, what are the Democrats doing with this majority? Not only do they want to change the election law, they want to make Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. states. Why? They’re doing everything they can to change the structure and constitutionality of our State—of our country—so they can maintain control illegally. That’s something we never want to see happen.”
“All right. Leader McCarthy could be Speaker McCarthy, it might be Speaker Trump. We’ll have to find out. Nice to see you, Kevin. Have a great weekend,” replied Kilmeade.
