Trump gives his support to radical Jim Jordan to preside over the House of Representatives | International

Former President Donald Trump, undisputed leader of the Republican Party, and probable candidate for the 2024 presidential election, has taken action in the crisis in Congress. Hours after showing himself willing to temporarily preside over the House of Representatives if there is no consensus candidate within the parliamentary group, he has offered his support to one of the two congressmen who have run for the position. Trump opts for the radical Jim Jordan, co-founder of the Freedom Caucus, which brings together the twenty extremists who have made life impossible for Kevin McCarthy and caused his historic dismissal.

Jordan is currently facing the candidacy of Steve Scalise, who was the number two of the parliamentary group behind McCarthy. Scalise has presented his candidacy despite the fact that he is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. In principle, within the parliamentary group he attracts more support than Jordan, who represents the hard wing of the party, but Trump's intervention could tip the balance in favor of the latter.

“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before he made his successful trip to Washington DC representing Ohio's 4th Congressional District. Respected by all, he is now chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. As president, I had the honor of presenting Jim with our country's highest civilian decoration, the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump wrote after midnight Thursday on Truth, his social network. After a digression to gloss Jordan's college athletic merits, he added: “He is strong on crime, borders, our military/veterans, and the 2nd Amendment.” [que consagra el derecho a llevar armas de fuego]. Jim, his wife Polly, and his family are exceptional. He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, and he has my complete and total support!”

The two candidates to replace McCarthy were already moving in search of support. Trump's leadership of the party is formidable. Very few dare to contradict him. Only two of the 10 congressmen who voted in favor of his political prosecution for his role in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 were able to revalidate their seat in the 2022 legislative elections. Their role was already decisive for the hard wing to win. bowed to the election of Kevin McCarthy on the 15th ballot last January, but now he doubles down and wants one of the extremists to be speaker of the House.

Jordan's election, on the other hand, would further complicate congressional governance. With a Senate with a Democratic majority, a House of Representatives entrenched in the most extreme positions can lead to an almost complete legislative blockade. The risk of a partial closure of the Administration when the budget extension approved at the last moment last Saturday expires on November 17 (and which cost McCarthy his head) increases with him as leader of the House Republicans.

The Freedom Caucus positions call for drastic cuts in public spending, tougher anti-immigration policies and an investigation of Joe Biden into his son Hunter's business dealings, which is actually already underway. After resistance to electing him, the radicals rebelled for the first time against McCarthy for the agreement to suspend the debt ceiling for two years. Jordan, on the other hand, is one of the fierce opponents of approving new aid to Ukraine for the war with Russia, while Scalise has so far voted in favor of such support. Trump's preferred candidate did not vote for the impeachment of the speaker, but it was members of his group who caused his termination.

Texas Congressman Troy Nehls, who had initially been in favor of offering the position to Trump himself, also tweeted that he had spoken with the former president by phone and that he supported Jordan. “I just had a great conversation with President Trump about the congressional speaker race. He is supporting Jim Jordan, and I think Congress should listen to the leader of our party. “I fully support Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House,” he wrote. Matt Gaetz, the congressman who promoted the successful no-confidence motion against McCarthy, has indicated that both Jordan and Scalise seem like acceptable solutions to him. Jordan's challenge is to gain the support of moderate congressmen.

Trump has maintained contacts with congressmen from his party to appear on Tuesday at the Capitol, which he has not visited since he was president, and intervene in the meeting of the parliamentary group in which the appointment of McCarthy's replacement will be debated. There is still no official confirmation of these plans, revealed by the AP agency, which cited sources who had requested anonymity and who indicated that he would be there to speak with Republican legislators and not to pitch himself for the position.

The former president went a step further in exclusive statements to Fox News Digital in which he offered himself as a temporary consensus solution if the Republican group could not agree on the candidate. “They have asked me to speak as a unifier because I have many friends in Congress. “If they don’t get the vote, they’ve asked me if I would consider taking the House speakership until they get someone more long-term, because I’m running for speaker,” he said. “They have asked me if I would take it on for a short period of time for the party, until they reach a conclusion, I am not doing it because I want to, I will do it if necessary, in case they cannot make their decision,” added the former president. .

There is no requirement that a person be a member of the House to serve as speaker, although all 55 so far were. In the case of Trump, it is the rules of his own parliamentary group that would prevent his election due to the four charges for 91 crimes to which he is subject, but the same people who can vote for him could change that rule.

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