Former President Donald Trump has waded into the contested race for US House Speaker, throwing his support behind one of his top allies on Capitol Hill, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.
He said; “As President then, I had the honour of presenting Jim with our Country’s highest civilian award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom. So much is learned from sports, and Jim was a master!”
Trump, praising Jordan’s wrestling record, said that “while attending Graham High School, he won State Championships all four years, a rarity, and compiled an amazing 156-1 record. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jim became a two-time NCAA Division l Wrestling Champion.
“He won his 1985-86 NCAA Championship Matches in his weight class,” Trump posted. “Jim has a masters degree in Education from Ohio State University & a Law Degree from Capital University.”
“He is STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment.. He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement,” Trump said of the Ohio Republican, former NCAA wrestling champ and coach, in a post on Truth Social on Friday.
The endorsement appears to take Trump himself out of the running for the speakership after several GOP allies, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Troy Nehls of Texas, endorsed the former president for the job following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster from the position.
Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced his bid for speaker of the House on Wednesday after Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster, following a successful motion to vacate.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also announced his bid for speaker of the House.
Trump’s comments come just hours after he said that if Republicans cannot rally enough support for Jordan or Scalise, he would accept the speakership himself for a “short period.”
Elected to Congress in 2006, Jordan began his career in Washington as a conservative bomb thrower. Like Scalise, he led the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives on the Hill. But, frustrated that the group was too big and slow, Jordan, along with then-Reps. Mark Meadows, Mick Mulvaney and Ron DeSantis, founded the smaller, ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus in 2015.
FOX NEWS/ NBC