Trump Endorses Jim Jordan to Succeed McCarthy as House Speaker

Shortly after midnight on Friday, Donald Trump posted a message on his Truth Social site giving what he called his "Complete & Total Endorsement" to Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for House speaker. Trump wrote that Jordan had been a "STAR" long before his career in Washington representing Ohio's 4th Congressional District, and predicted he would be a "GREAT Speaker."

The post came hours after Texas Rep. Troy Nehls announced on X, late Thursday, that Trump had told him he was backing Jordan. Nehls added that he believed Congress should listen to the leader of the party. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said Trump had thought it over and concluded that Jordan was right for the job. Two Republicans familiar with Trump's thinking said he had been telling people in recent days that he preferred Jordan, though it was unclear whether he meant to announce it before Nehls's tweet.

Jordan chairs the House Judiciary Committee and has long been one of Trump's most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill. He has led investigations into the prosecutors who have charged the former president, and he was among the Republicans who worked with Trump to overturn the 2020 defeat ahead of Jan. 6. He is one of two leading candidates, along with Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the current majority leader, who has also worked closely with Trump over the years. Both are trying to secure the 218 votes needed to win the gavel, and both need support from the party's far-right and moderate wings. It is unclear whether the endorsement will push Scalise out of the race.

The contest follows the stunning ouster of Kevin McCarthy. Trump had helped McCarthy win the speakership in January after 15 rounds of voting, but later urged Republicans to impeach President Joe Biden and to reject deals McCarthy negotiated. Last month he urged the party's right flank to back a government shutdown if Republicans did not win deep spending cuts. McCarthy instead moved to keep the government open for 45 days without those cuts, and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a longtime Trump ally, cited that decision in moving to depose him.

Trump had also kept alive the idea of taking the job himself. He told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he would accept a short-term stint as speaker, from 30 to 90 days, if another candidate could not win the votes, saying he had been asked to act as a unifier because of his many friends in Congress. In a social media post, he said he would do whatever was necessary to help the selection process in the short term. Nehls, among the first to promote the idea, said he had been contacted by multiple members willing to offer nomination speeches for Trump, and he said he would turn to Trump again if no current candidate reaches the needed votes. "Our conference is divided. Our country is broken," he said. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who did not vote to remove McCarthy, wrote that she believed Trump would take the job.

Nothing requires a speaker to be a House member, but all 55 speakers elected so far have been. Lawmakers have occasionally cast protest votes for outsiders. The job involves effectively running the Capitol and managing hundreds of lawmakers, and requires attention to arcane legislative detail, which Trump showed little interest in even as president. He also faces four criminal indictments and several civil cases while still campaigning in early primary states as the GOP presidential front-runner.

Trump had been in talks to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter. It would have been his first visit since leaving office and since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. He has been indicted in Washington and Georgia over efforts to overturn the election. One source said he would likely have attended a closed-door candidate forum Tuesday evening, and cautioned he would be there to talk with lawmakers, not pitch himself. Nehls said the trip was unlikely.

A speakership vote could come as soon as Wednesday. What to watch is whether Jordan or Scalise can reach 218, and whether the Trump endorsement settles the race or deepens the divide.