Former President Donald Trump said this week that he has no interest in serving as speaker of the U.S. House.
Trump told Just the News that he would not serve as speaker, an idea that has been floated by several conservatives including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
“No, I think that it’s not something I wanted. A lot of people bring it up. It’s brought up all the time. 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,” Trump told Just the News.
Speaking at a rally in Georgia with Trump over the weekend, Gaetz doubled down on his promise to nominate the former president to lead the House.
“Give us the ability to fire Nancy Pelosi, take back the majority, impeach Joe Biden, and I’m going to nominate Donald J. Trump for speaker of the United States House of Representatives” Gaetz announced.
Gaetz has pledged in recent months to nominate Trump to serve as speaker and has been one of his foremost champions on Capitol Hill.
The Constitution is silent on whether or not the speaker of the House has to be a member of Congress. Over the years, members of Congress have voted for non-members to serve as speaker but none of these non-members ever was elected to the post.