Senate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently shared that former President Donald Trump has told him he has considered the idea of becoming House speaker. And while Trump has entertained the idea of taking a shot at a Speaker role, McCarthy shared that he’d rather Trump become president again instead.
McCarthy was slated to become Speaker of the House in 2015 after John Boehner resigned, but he withdraws his candidacy after making ill-advised comments about the House’s Benghazi hearings. He’d claimed that Republicans successfully discredited Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election over the fatal 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. He later clarified that it was never his intention to imply that the committee was political.
McCarthy made an appearance on Fox News and was asked by host Brian Kilmeade if former president Donald Trump should become the House Speaker. He highlighted the fact that GOP members could take the House and finish the job.
“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 to win the House. You won’t have to worry about the filibuster again, cause those bills won’t get over there,” McCarthy said, after some nervous laughter.
Kilmeade responded, “All right, Leader McCarthy, it could be Speaker McCarthy, it might be Speaker Trump. We’ll have to find out.”
Most people have pondered the idea of Trump running for a potential Speaker role, including radio host Wayne Allyn Root, who said that his victory could “wipe” President Joe Biden out. Trump replied that the suggestion was “so interesting.” He added that the suggestion might even be better than the proposal for him to run for the Senate.
Trump wouldn’t need to be a member of the House in order to hold that position. The Constitution clearly states that every Speaker must be a member of the body, not the House and that the House of Representatives shall choose them. It does not say anything against electing outside officials.
While the prospects seem far-fetched, politicians have talked about Trump running for Congress in 2022 to replace Pelosi’s role in a GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon told a group of Boston Republicans back in February that Trump should run for Congress.
“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.
Most people have pointed out how Trump can serve two terms and that there are no requirements for them to be consecutive. Others have pointed at election audits and questioned whether Trump could be back in office sooner than later. While some people believe that Trump would be a powerful speaker of the House, others say he could win the next presidential election easily.
