Republican Representative Lauren Boebert suggested that she could nominate Trump during an interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday. She had voted for Donalds on Wednesday and previously voted for Representative Jim Jordan on Tuesday.
In the sixth ballot on Wednesday, Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries won 212 votes, McCarthy won 201, 20 Republicans voted for Representative Byron Donalds and Representative Victoria Spartz voted "present."
That left McCarthy short of the required majority for a second day and it remains unclear whether he can make a deal with his GOP opponents to secure the speaker's chair.
"There are certainly names that have been floated around, and hey, maybe I should nominate President Donald J. Trump tomorrow," Boebert told Hannity.
That's a suggestion that has been floated by some of the former president's supporters in the past and it is technically possible for Trump to fill that role if a majority of those voting choose him.
It was the second day of chaos on the floor of the House of Representatives when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) took the previously unthinkable step of thumbing her nose at Donald Trump, the ex-president she otherwise venerates.
“Let’s stop with the campaign smears and tactics to get people to turn against us — even having my favorite president call us and tell us to knock this off. I think it actually needs to be reversed and the [former] president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw,” Boebert said. “Ooo”s from Democrats could be heard from the chamber.
The inability of McCarthy to secure the needed votes to be House Speaker — despite six tries at doing so — represents a unique failure on his part. But it has also called into question the extent of Trump’s own power to shape the party in his image, coming at a time when some Republicans have openly soured on his current run for the presidency.
“If these 20 people are successful in exerting their will over the 200 more Republicans who want McCarthy, and deny McCarthy the speakership, then it will be a huge, huge hit against President Trump, because the people who he’s supposed to have the most influence with didn’t listen to him,” said Rodney Davis, the outgoing Republican congressman from Illinois.
Trump, in turn, has offered his support to McCarthy’s speaker ambitions even as contemporaneous materials surfaced showing the congressman’s frustrations with his presidency. After Republicans took back the House, Trump was in contact with members of the anti-McCarthy wing, publicly expressed his support for McCarthy, and even warned those waging battles against McCarthy that they were setting up a “doomsday scenario” in the House.
He worked the phones behind the scenes in support of McCarthy.
But Trump’s endorsement of McCarthy has not been enough to sway the so-called Never-Kevins, who each have their own personal issues with the California congressman and have pushed for additional demands over the course of the past few weeks, including amending the procedure for ousting a House Speaker and committee assignments. The hardliners pushing against McCarthy have included Freedom Caucus members from the most MAGA wing of the GOP, with Rep. Matt Gaetz, (R-Fla.) — no stranger to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club — helping lead the pack. They’re insistent, though, that the vote against McCarthy isn’t a vote against Trump.
“I know a lot of people are focusing on Trump’s ‘waning influence’ regarding this speaker vote,” said the person. “I think it would be a different story if Trump was attacking someone and they still wouldn’t budge. That would signal waning influence. … If anyone wants to suggest waning power or influence then I think they’re off base because Trump hasn’t gone full Trump mode.”
Other GOP luminaries argued that the problem facing the party over the past few days was not Trump’s influence but rather the strategic thinking of a small minority of House members. Asked about Boebert’s comments, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich bluntly criticized the Colorado Republican.
“Did you see the margin by which she was elected?” he said. “I don’t put much stock in what she says and I don’t think Trump does either. Trump admires McCarthy and if the attack is from the so-called right, then it’s pretty hard to explain why they’re against someone Trump is supporting.”
“I don’t think they care,” Gingrich added. “I think this is all about personal attitudes and bitterness and to me it’s kind of amazing to watch.”
Despite such protestations, Trump’s enthusiasm for McCarthy has come into question over the past 48 hours, and with it speculation about his eagerness to shape the contours of Republican politics.
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