Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the House speaker contest presents an opportunity that House Republicans need to take to set aside intraparty conflict and move forward as a team after weeks of contentious debate, conservative political commentator Angie Wong says.
“What we need right now is to make sure that the Republican Party does not look so fractured. We just went through a week where the Republican Party threw out their own leader, and we’re seeing our other Republican leader Donald Trump on trial every other day. So, we look messy,” Ms. Wong told NTD News’ “Capitol Report” on Oct. 6.
“What we need is to unify because the Republican Conference is a team sport. It is not men’s singles tennis,” she continued. “We need to look unified, we need to look like we know what we’re doing.”
Ms. Wong explained that regular GOP donors are closing their checkbooks at the moment as they watch divisions within the House Republican conference play out.
“They think it’s very unsettling what’s happening, and they’re going to wait it out into 2024 unless we get it together,” she said.
Republican lawmakers are weighing their options for the next House speaker after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) garnered votes from seven fellow House Republicans and 208 Democrats to pass a motion to take the speaker’s gavel from Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are leading contenders.
Trump Speakership: ‘Entertaining’ But Complicated
Ms. Wong said that by indulging talk of temporarily serving as the House speaker, President Trump had helped to bring some degree of unity to the House Republican conference.“Trump is coming in, saying: ‘I’m the unifier. I will bring this party back together.’ And he’s taking those necessary steps without crossing the line, because he also said last night that he might come in temporarily for 30 to 90 days ‘if you need me.’ ‘I don’t want the job. But if you need me, I’ll do it,'” she said.
Ms. Wong said it would have been entertaining to see the former president take a turn at the speakership but that such a move would have faced challenges.
“If Trump became a temporary speaker of the House, he would light that house on fire; it would be entertaining 24/7. You know, he would be Nancy Pelosi’s boss, so to speak,” she said.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was among the House Republicans who firmly supported letting President Trump take the speaker’s gavel. On Oct. 5, the Georgia lawmaker said she'd back neither Mr. Jordan nor Mr. Scalise, telling NTD News, “I’m solidly supporting President Trump right now.”
One immediate hurdle a Trump speakership vote would face involves House Republican conference rules. Rule 26(a) states, “A member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.”
President Trump currently faces 91 counts across four separate criminal indictments, with some charges carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
“House Rule 26(a), you know, prohibits, unfortunately, people who are under indictment from running or being part of that conference,” Ms. Wong said.
The conservative political commentator said that House Republicans could find other senior members who are deserving of the speakership.
Pros and Cons of Jordan Speakership
If Mr. Jordan were to become the next House speaker in a clear and concise vote, Ms. Wong argued that could help reduce a perception that the House Republican conference is “messy” and divided.“Jim Jordan is a very safe bet. Everyone likes him in Congress. And that’s what you need. You need 218 votes, right?” she said. “We don’t want to look messy. We don’t want another 15 rounds to vote in Kevin McCarthy. Again, we can’t do those late-night votes. We want a clear, unified vote on Wednesday.”
Although Mr. Jordan could unify the House Republican majority, Ms. Wong said fundraising is a key component of the speakership and an area in which she said Mr. Jordan remains largely untested.
“I really enjoyed seeing [Mr. Jordan] on the House Judiciary Committee. I thought he was great there. Ultimately, the job of the speaker we see 20 percent of it, which is to whip votes and get bills passed and to organize Congress,” Ms. Wong said.
“What Jim Jordan’s not great at, that I haven’t seen yet anyway, is the fundraising part and the campaigning part and all those things to ensure he has an army for the GOP in 2024. So that has yet to be seen. And that’s really the majority of what House Speaker Kevin McCarthy did.”
