On a Friday just after midnight, a former president who still shapes his party's direction put his weight behind one man to fill the empty seat of the House speakership. Donald Trump's endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio arrived after an ally had already spoken for him, a reminder of how power in a divided party often moves through whispers before it becomes declaration. Behind the gesture lies a House Republican conference still searching for a leader after Kevin McCarthy's ouster, unable to agree on who can hold the fragile coalition together. The question now is whether a single endorsem
Trump Endorses Jim Jordan to Succeed McCarthy as House Speaker
Our conference is divided. Our country is broken.
Mark
Why does this endorsement matter so much?
Mimi
Because House Republicans are fractured, and Trump is the GOP presidential front-runner. His word lands on a conference with no speaker, and he has used the vacuum to show his hold on the party.
Mark
How did it come out?
Mimi
Troy Nehls said on X Thursday night that Trump was backing Jordan. Trump's own post came shortly after midnight.
Luke
Worth noting it was unclear whether Trump meant to announce it before Nehls posted. So the timing may not have been his plan.
Mark
Does it end Scalise's bid?
Luke
Nobody knows. The reporting says plainly it's unclear whether Scalise will withdraw.
Mimi
And both need 218 votes, with the far right and the moderates both on board. That's the real hurdle.
Mark
And Trump as speaker himself?
Luke
He told Fox News Digital he'd serve 30 to 90 days if asked, but that's his own account. The conference is generally supportive of him, yet whether they'd back him is unknown.
Mimi
Also, no speaker has ever come from outside the House, across 55 elected.
Mark
What about the Capitol visit?
Luke
Three anonymous sources said talks were underway; Nehls said it was unlikely. That's unresolved.
Il Polso
- Trump's late-night endorsement of Jim Jordan landed on Truth Social just hours after Rep. Troy Nehls announced it, leaving the timing of the announcement in question.
- Jordan and Steve Scalise are racing for 218 votes, and neither has yet secured the support that both the far-right and moderate wings require.
- Trump has floated a short-term speakership of 30 to 90 days if no candidate can win, a move that signals how deadlocked the conference has become.
- A vote could come as soon as Wednesday, and whether Scalise stays in the race will determine how quickly the chamber can move past the impasse.
On a Friday just after midnight, a former president who still shapes his party's direction put his weight behind one man to fill the empty seat of the House speakership. Donald Trump's endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio arrived after an ally had already spoken for him, a reminder of how power in a divided party often moves through whispers before it becomes declaration. Behind the gesture lies a House Republican conference still searching for a leader after Kevin McCarthy's ouster, unable to agree on who can hold the fragile coalition together. The question now is whether a single endorsement can settle a contest that the party's own factions have not yet resolved.
Shortly after midnight on Friday, Donald Trump posted his "Complete & Total Endorsement" of Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for speaker of the House, calling him a "STAR" and a future "GREAT Speaker." The post came only hours after Texas Rep. Troy Nehls said on X that he had spoken with Trump and that Trump was backing Jordan. Two Republicans familiar with Trump's thinking said he had privately favored Jordan for days, though it remained unclear whether Trump had intended to go public before Nehls did.
Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, is one of two leading contenders to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the post. His main rival, Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, has also worked closely with Trump, so it is not yet clear whether the endorsement will push him out. Both men need 218 votes, which means winning over the party's far-right and moderate flanks at once, and the conference remains split.
The week also brought unusual talk about Trump himself. Nehls and others had urged him to take the gavel, and Trump told Fox News Digital he would accept a short-term speakership of 30 to 90 days if no candidate could win, presenting himself as a unifier. Trump had also planned a rare Capitol visit on Tuesday, his first since leaving office and since the January 6 attack, though Nehls later said that was unlikely.
The stakes are clear. McCarthy's ouster followed a dispute over government funding, and the next speaker will face the same pressures. A vote could come as soon as Wednesday, and the open questions are whether Scalise remains in the race and whether either man can finally reach 218.
Shortly after midnight on Friday, Donald Trump posted a message to his Truth Social site giving his "Complete & Total Endorsement" to Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for speaker of the House. Trump called Jordan a "STAR" who had made a "very successful journey" to Washington representing Ohio's 4th Congressional District, and said he would be a "GREAT Speaker."
The post followed a revelation by Texas Rep. Troy Nehls late Thursday. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Nehls said he had just had a great conversation with Trump about the speaker's race and that Trump was endorsing Jordan. Nehls added that he believed Congress should listen to the leader of the party. In an interview with The Associated Press, Nehls said the former president had made up his mind after thinking it over, and believed Jordan was right for the job. Two Republicans familiar with Trump's thinking, speaking anonymously, said he had been telling people in recent days that he preferred Jordan. It was unclear, though, whether Trump had meant to announce it before Nehls's post.
Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is one of two leading candidates to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the speakership. The other is Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the current majority leader. Both are working to lock down the 218 votes needed to win, which requires support from both the far-right and moderate wings of the party. Whether Trump's backing will push Scalise out of the race is unclear. Scalise has also worked closely with Trump over the years. Jordan, however, is one of Trump's biggest champions on Capitol Hill, has led investigations into the prosecutors who have charged the former president, and was among the Republicans who worked with Trump to overturn his defeat ahead of Jan. 6.
The endorsement came amid unusual speculation about Trump himself. Nehls, one of the first to promote Trump for the job, had been encouraging him to run, and said multiple members of Congress were willing to offer nomination speeches for him. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who did not vote to remove McCarthy, posted that she believed Trump "would take the job." Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he would accept a short-term speakership, for 30 to 90 days, if another candidate lacked the votes, saying he had been asked to act as a unifier. In a social media post he said he would do whatever was necessary to help the selection process in the short term. Nehls said that if no candidate can win, he would turn to Trump again: "Our conference is divided. Our country is broken. I don't know who can get to 218."
There had also been talk of a Capitol visit. Trump told Fox News Digital he would go to Washington on Tuesday to meet Republicans, and three people familiar with the discussions confirmed the talks to the AP. It would have been his first trip to the Capitol since leaving office and since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. One person said he would likely have attended a closed-door candidate forum Tuesday evening, ahead of a vote that could come as soon as Wednesday, and would have come to talk with lawmakers rather than pitch himself. Nehls said the trip was unlikely.
The speakership is a demanding job, effectively running the Capitol and dealing with hundreds of lawmakers, and it requires attention to the arcane details of legislating that Trump showed little interest in even as president. No rule requires the speaker to be a House member, but all 55 speakers elected so far have been, though members have sometimes cast protest votes for outsiders. Trump, meanwhile, is the GOP presidential front-runner, still campaigning in early primary states while dealing with four criminal indictments and several civil cases, including federal and Georgia charges over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump had helped McCarthy win the gavel in January after 15 rounds of voting, but later urged Republicans to impeach Biden and reject McCarthy's deals. Last month he urged the right flank to back a shutdown absent deep spending cuts. McCarthy instead moved to keep the government open for 45 days without them, and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a Trump ally, cited that as his reason for moving to depose him.
What to watch: whether Scalise stays in, whether either man can reach 218, and whether a vote arrives Wednesday.
Citazioni salienti
He is endorsing Jim Jordan, and I believe Congress should listen to the leader of our party.— Rep. Troy Nehls, on X
He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!— Donald Trump, on Truth Social
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Politics & Governance