Since Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) ouster as Speaker of the House, the lower chamber's Republicans are scrambling to choose his successor as predictions of chaos grow.
A few Republicans have already announced their bids to be the next to hold the gavel as rumors swirl that former President Trump might jump into the race despite dominating the polls for the 2024 Republican primary by more than 45 points according to the latest average from Real Clear Politics.
According to sources familiar with internal GOP discussions, Trump is expected to visit Capitol Hill next week as lawmakers prepare to return to the House floor to begin the work of electing a new speaker.
Trump hasn't said definitively that he would not take on the role of House speaker, but he said on Truth Social that he would "do whatever is necessary to help with the Speaker of the House selection process, short term, until the final selection of a GREAT REPUBLICAN SPEAKER is made."
What's more, Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday that "he would accept a short-term role as speaker of the House of Representatives to serve as a 'unifier' for the Republican Party until lawmakers reach a decision on who should take on the post."
If Trump were to formally seek the speaker's gavel, even just temporarily, he'd need to make things official before the process gets underway next Wednesday and may want to get ahead of the House GOP's "candidate forum" being held on Tuesday.
While much of the talk of Trump as potential speaker is just speculation for now, his status as frontrunner in the 2024 race makes it unlikely he would seriously consider taking over for McCarthy and is — as he hinted to on Truth Social — more interested in being a kingmaker in the race for the gavel.
"A lot of people have been calling me about speaker...all I can say is we'll do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party," Trump said on Tuesday in his typical leave-the-door-open style that keeps his name in the conversation.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) called on her GOP colleagues to support Trump for House speaker, making her case in a post on X, formerly Twitter:
The only candidate for Speaker I am currently supporting is President Donald J. Trump.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 4, 2023
He will end the war in Ukraine.
He will secure the border.
He will end the politically weaponized government.
He will make America energy independent again.
He will pass my bill to stop…
In addition, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) said he would nominate Trump for speaker when the election takes place next week.
On Tuesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) successfully secured enough votes to remove McCarthy as Speaker of the House, the closing shot in a battle that began in January when Gaetz kicked off the new Congress as a vocal opponent of McCarthy, writing a critical op-ed criticizing the now-former speaker.
"He has no ideology," Gaetz said of McCarthy, adding that he will eventually "cave to liberals." Ultimately, it was Gaetz who needed House Democrats to complete his crusade against McCarthy by stripping him of the gavel.
Trump, on the other hand, did not take sides in January's battle even as he expressed his frustration with the GOP for always fighting fellow Republicans.
"Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves? Why aren't they fighting the Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country?" Trump asked on Truth Social.
