With a GOP legislative majority, former president Donald Trump hopes to run for office again and assist in governing the nation, but he is wary of the risks after a small group of Republicans sided with the Democrats last week to remove Republican Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the speakership—a historic first.
But in a conversation with Just the News, the 45th president provided a blueprint for future success.
“Two words: strong and united,” During the Association of Mature American Citizens 2024 presidential election town hall series, Trump told John Solomon of Just the News.
“We need stronger people. We have such power and we don’t use it. But the Democrats use that power. And they use it very horribly into weaponization and things that nobody has ever seen outside of a banana republic,” he added.
According to Just The News:
The former president was referring to what he and others consider the politicization of federal agencies such as the FBI and Justice Department and a so-called “two-tiered system of justice” in which certain people are prosecuted, and others are not, depending on their religious or political affiliation.
Next week, the House is expected to elect a new speaker after California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted Wednesday from the post by eight ultra-right Republican House members in a full floor vote.
In the latter part of the previous week, President Trump expressed his endorsement for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as a candidate for the position of Speaker of the House. Jordan is now competing against House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) for this role.
“Jim is a fantastic person,” Trump said. “He’s got a tremendous career. He’s always been tough at what he did.”
“I think he’ll do well,” Trump added about Jordan. “I hope he does well. He’s got competition, as you understand, and they’re friendly with me too …. very nice people and good people. We’ll see what happens.”
Following the House’s decision to abandon the seat of former Speaker McCarthy, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), a trusted associate of the aforementioned California Republican, was promptly appointed as the temporary speaker.
“The speaker pro tempore is imbued with all the powers of an elected speaker of the House. McCarthy hand-picked McHenry (R-N.C.) for this role when he was elected speaker in January. The pro tempore is kept as a secret, held by the clerk of the House, until a speaker is removed or incapacitated, a process designed after Sept. 11, 2001, to ensure continuity of government,” Politico reported.
The final tally resulted in a vote of 216 to 210 in favor of McCarthy’s removal, with the support of eight Republicans who joined forces with all present Democrats.
“This is the first time that [the] temporary replacement process has ever been carried out, following a speaker being forced out. As an acting speaker, McHenry is not in the line of succession for the presidency. Just like any acting Cabinet secretary, McHenry would be skipped,” the outlet continued.
McCarthy’s close friend and confidant McHenry was instrumental in mediating disputes between House Republican factions in January and obtaining the votes required for McCarthy to be elected Speaker. Additionally, Politico noted that he played a key role in McCarthy’s negotiations with President Joe Biden to reach a debt limit agreement, a move that sparked condemnation from conservative GOP conference factions and aided in their attempt to remove McCarthy from the Speakership.
NBC News provided an update on what to expect to happen next:
Since 2003, House rules have required the speaker to submit a list of names to the clerk of members to act in the case of his or her vacancy. According to Rule I, clause 8 of the House rules, the next person on that list “shall act as Speaker pro tempore until the election of a Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore.” We now know that’s Patrick McHenry; he’ll take over as speaker in an acting capacity.
This is a different situation than in January, when the House started a new session and could not start any legislative business until a speaker was elected. Because it was the beginning of a new Congress, the House needed to elect a speaker in order to swear in members and pass the rules package.
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