Former President Donald Trump has been actively trying to nudge divided Republicans toward a resolution of the House speaker election standoff, which has now spilled into two days and six rounds of fruitless voting.
For now, though, he has remained resolute in calling on the GOP — through his TruthSocial platform Wednesday — to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to the speaker role.
And though he had praise for one House member whose name has bubbled up as a rival for the role — Byron Donalds — Trump said he has not endorsed Donalds for the seat despite reports to the contrary.
After his McCarthy endorsement was rebuffed by members of the House Freedom Caucus — many of whom fully supported Trump during his White House term and favor his candidacy for the White House in 2024 — the former commander-in-chief again took to social media to potentially break the impasse among McCarthy voters and his dissenters.
Shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Trump offered some perspective on the so-called "compromise" candidacy of Donalds, R-Fla., for House speaker.
"I have always supported Byron Donalds, have consistently endorsed him for Congress and, in fact, feel that I was a primary reason he entered politics in the first place," Trump wrote on his social platform. "He is a young man with a great future! With that all being said, the story and statement that was just put out that I endorsed Byron for speaker of the House is fake and fraudulent. He will have his day, and it will be a big one, but not now!"
Similar to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, from Tuesday, the Donalds nomination represents an alternative choice for Republicans to consider.
It is also a device designed to discourage McCarthy from believing his speakership might be the only path forward for GOP holdouts.
While addressing the House floor before Wednesday's voting, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., publicly encouraged Trump to change his public stance on McCarthy's stunted candidacy.
"Even having my favorite president call us and tell us, 'We need to knock this off,'" said Boebert, one of Trump's most vocal congressional allies. "I actually think it needs to be reversed: The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, 'Sir, you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw.'"
Donalds has yet to corral more than 20 House speaker votes, suggesting he is still a long-shot pick to eclipse McCarthy or Democrat nominee Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
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