Oct. 4 (UPI) — Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas said he intends to nominate former President Donald Trump for speaker of the House after the position was left vacant Tuesday following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
The Republican and former sheriff of Fort Bend County announced his intention to put forward the name of the controversial former president once Congress reconvenes next week.
“Kevin McCarthy will NOT be running again as Speaker. I nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the House,” he tweeted.
The speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress. But no speaker has ever not been a congressman.
McCarthy, R-Calif., became the first House speaker in U.S. history to lose the gavel in a vote — a vote that was put in motion by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida following recent in-party fighting over keeping the government funded.
The Californian’s tenuous grasp on the position was established from the start when it took 15 rounds of voting to name him head of the Congressional branch in January after the Republicans retook the House.
He gained the position only after making compromises with the extreme right-wing of his party, including allowing the reinstatement of a procedure that allows for a sole member to call a vote to vacate.
His ouster was back by a unanimous Democratic Party and only eight far-right Republicans, including Gaetz.
Nehls, who voted against unseating McCarthy, described Trump in a statement Tuesday as “the greatest president of my lifetime” and said he would nominate him as his first order of business once the House reconvenes.
McCarthy late Tuesday said he would not run for the position again, and the former sheriff’s intention to nominate Trump seemed to have some backing from at least other far-right Republicans.
“The only candidate for speaker I am currently supporting is President Donald J. Trump,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted. “We can make him speaker and then elect him president!”
Rep. Greg Steube of Florida also voiced his support for Trump as speaker.
Trump is also the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary for the 2024 general election.
