Former President Trump may have played a crucial role in helping now-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) to secure the required votes needed to take over the position.
According to Breitbart, the 45th President was responsible for bringing about a compromise among House Republicans who initially opposed McCarthy to electing him.
After nearly a week of voting, McCarthy took the gavel after 15 rounds.
Several GOP members of Congress claimed that Trump was the honey that sweetened the tea, urging Republican holdouts to vote in favor of McCarthy.
“This doesn’t get done without the support and leadership of President Trump,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said, applauding the former president’s help.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla) also said that Trump did nothing but play “a good part in this.”
“I want you to understand, this is a process of the members of Congress, and so this is something where the members have had a lot of time around each other to try to get comfortable, have real conversations, and get to an outcome,” Donalds said.
Donalds was a key vote for McCarthy, who at first supported him but then rescinded his vote after it became clear McCarthy did not have the votes to move forward.
Trump also made calls late Friday night to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who both opposed McCarthy as speaker.
Trump reportedly told the two men that the issue needed to be resolved after voting dragged on for days.
It must have worked because, on the 15th round of voting, they both voted “present” for McCarthy.
Following McCarthy taking the gavel, he thanked Trump for being with him “from the beginning.”
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“I do want to especially thank President Trump," McCarthy told reporters, adding “I don't think anybody should doubt his influence. He was with me from the beginning … he was all in."
McCarthy praised Trump’s persistent calling to Republican lawmakers, thanking him once more.
“He would call me, and he would call others. He was – I was just talking to him tonight – helping get those final votes," McCarthy said, adding "What he's saying, really, for the party and the country, that we have to come together. We have to focus on the economy. We've got to focus and make our borders secure. We gotta do so much work to do, and he was a great influence to make that all happen. So, thank you, President Trump."
As the night dragged on, McCarthy seemed to get noticeably frustrated with members of his party.
He was also seen talking to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla) where the conversation seemed to heat up as both pointed fingers at each other.
He wasn't the only one, however.
CNN’s hot mic caught a female groaning loudly saying “oh for Christ’s sake” after McCarthy said he was certain that he will be able to sway the votes of the last remaining holdouts.
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