Barriers make it difficult for Mr. Trump to become Speaker of the House of Representatives

Trump is having many legal troubles that could put him in jail, the biggest obstacle making it difficult for the former US president to become Speaker of the House of Representatives.

To date, at least three Republicans, including Congressmen Troy Nehls, Greg Steube and Marjorie Taylor Greene, have announced that they will support former president Donald Trump to become Speaker of the House, replacing Kevin McCarthy, who was just dismissed on October 3.

"This week, when the US House of Representatives resumes session, the first thing I will do is nominate Donald Trump to be chairman," Nehls said. "President Trump, the greatest president to me, has a proven history of always putting America first and will make the House great again."

Former US President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in July. Photo: Reuters

In a post on social network X, Congressman Steube briefly wrote: "Elect Donald Trump as Speaker of the House."

Rep. Greene said Trump is "the only candidate for Speaker of the House" that she supports. "We can make him leader of the House, then elect him president," she said.

In an interview with Fox News on October 5, Trump said he was willing to accept the role of chairman "in the short term for the Republican party" until the House of Representatives finds a permanent leader.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a powerful position that can determine the success or failure of the US president's agenda, as well as maintain the effective operation of the legislature. This seat in American history usually belongs to the majority party in the House of Representatives.

The US Constitution says very little about who can hold this position, other than stating that the House of Representatives "shall choose their president", nor does it stipulate that the Speaker of the House must be a sitting congressman.

Historians and legal experts speculate that the American founders may have assumed that the person who takes on the job of Speaker of the House of Representatives would be chosen from among elected lawmakers, so they did not specifically stipulate the qualifications. candidate. This could be a door for people like Mr. Trump with no legislative experience to join the race for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.

If Mr. Trump becomes Speaker of the House of Representatives, this will be unprecedented in American history . A number of people who are not members of the House of Representatives have been nominated before, but none have been successful.

However, the former US president's door to the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is said to be quite narrow. The Republican Party holds the majority in the House of Representatives with 221 seats, the Democrats control 212 seats. To be elected Speaker of the House, Mr. Trump will have to receive at least 217 votes in support. All Democratic lawmakers will likely oppose him, while many moderate Republicans also do not want to support the former president.

In addition, Mr. Trump's opportunity to assume the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is also hindered by a law proposed by the Republican Party.

Article 26 of the House Republican Conference Rules passed in January stipulates that "a member of the Republican leadership shall resign if indicted for a felony that would subject him or her to a fine." two years or more in prison".

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a position within the Republican leadership, so the above regulation will likely prevent Mr. Trump from being Speaker of the House, because he is being prosecuted for many serious crimes that could result in a prison sentence. sentence of at least two years in prison.

The former US president currently faces a total of 91 criminal charges in 4 indictments at both the state and federal levels. In addition, he is also a defendant in a series of civil lawsuits.

"We do not want a convicted person to become president of the United States," former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who strongly opposes Mr. Trump, told CNBC on October 4. "Meanwhile, some jokers on Capitol Hill say let him become Speaker of the House."

According to Ron Elving, university lecturer and senior analyst at NPR News , the above regulation will make Republicans in the House hesitant to vote for Trump. "I don't think the average Republican wants to participate in giving former president Trump the power to shut down the government," he said.