As former President Donald Trump seriously tossed around the idea of serving as House Speaker, his top aides frantically tried to persuade him to drop the idea, reported Politico on Friday.
The issue began when a few key Republicans, like Reps. Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), proposed a Trump speakership, with Nehls reaching out directly to the former president. This development, reported Politico, "triggered panic" among other members.
The real risk wasn't that Trump would actually become speaker, said the report — the front-runners in the race are House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH). Most Republicans didn't believe he could get the votes he would need.
The risk was that House Republicans in vulnerable elections next year would be tied directly to the former president as the caucus battled over how big a role he should play in their leadership.
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According to the report, aides close to Trump ultimately talked him out of it by explaining it would blow up in his face. "Not only would he lose to Scalise or Jordan, they told him, but that he could receive just a handful of votes since the nomination process is done by secret ballot — meaning Republicans were free to vote their conscience without MAGA blowback," said the report — with aides even warning that Trump could be barred from even attending that closed-door election.
Ultimately Trump, who may not even have been eligible to be speaker anyway under rules prohibiting people under indictment from House leadership, gave an endorsement to Jordan on Thursday evening, taking himself out of consideration.
Per the report, Nehls still tried to talk Trump into running, telling him, "You can come in and make Congress great again."
