Jim Jordan of Ohio, the brash head of the House Judiciary Committee and a steadfast supporter of former president Donald Trump, has received the endorsement of the former president in order to succeed Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.
Just after midnight on Friday, Trump said on his Truth Social website that Ohio’s 4th Congressional District’s representative, Congressman Jim Jordan, “had been a star long before making his extremely successful voyage to Washington, D.C. He has my complete and total endorsement and will make a great Speaker of the House!”
The statement was made a few hours after Texas Representative Troy Nehls announced Thursday night that Trump had decided to support Jordan’s campaign and after Trump said he would be open to acting as acting leader himself if Republicans couldn’t agree on a replacement after McCarthy’s shocking dismissal.
Trump, the current front-runner for the Republican nomination for president, to show just how much he controls the party.
Deep divides among House Republicans have led to some of them requesting him to lead them; he also advocated this idea after igniting the conflicts that led to McCarthy’s removal as speaker.
According to two Republicans familiar with Trump’s thinking who were granted anonymity to speak about it, Trump has been telling individuals recently that he preferred Jordan for the position.
It wasn’t apparent, though, whether he meant to make the announcement prior to Nehls’ post. “I just had a fantastic talk regarding the Speaker’s race with President Trump. He is supporting Jim Jordan, and I think Congress needs to pay attention to him.
Later, Nehls, who had been pressuring Trump to compete for the position himself, said that the former president preferred Jordan in an interview with The Associated Press.
After giving it some thought and doing this and that, he said that he was truly in favor of supporting Jim Jordan, according to Nehls. He thinks Jim Jordan is qualified for the position.
Along with Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Jordan is one of the two front-runners vying to become speaker.
Both need the backing of the far-right and moderate parts of the party in order to secure the 218 votes needed to win the position. It’s unclear if Scalise, the current GOP majority leader, will be forced to withdraw from the campaign as a result of Trump’s support or if either candidate can cross the finish line.
JOIN US ON WHAT'SAPP, TO GET INSTANT STATUS UPDATES AND BE IN THE KNOW.
CLICK HERE
