Texas Republican will nominate Trump for Speaker of the House

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) announced late Tuesday that he will file paperwork to nominate former President Trump to be the next Speaker of the House.

“This week, when the U.S. House of Representatives reconvenes, my first order of business will be to nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Nehls said in a statement. “President Trump, the greatest President of my lifetime, has a proven record of putting America First and will make the House great again.”

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted as Speaker on Tuesday in a historic vote, after eight Republicans joined all Democrats in voting him out of the role. Nehls voted against attempts to remove McCarthy.

The Speaker of the House is not required to be a sitting member of Congress, though no Speaker has ever held the role without being a member.

Before Republicans won back the House in the 2022 midterms, Trump said he would not be interested in taking the top job. 

“No, I think that it’s not something I wanted. A lot of people bring it up. It’s brought up all the time,” he said last March. “No, it’s not something I want to do. I want to look at what’s happening, and then we’re going to be doing something else. No, it’s not something I would be interested in.”

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) also said he would back Trump for Speaker.

McCarthy announced late Tuesday that he would not attempt to become Speaker again. The GOP conference will have a candidate forum next Tuesday to select their pick for the role, with Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) presiding.