Steube says GOP would change House rules for Trump

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said House Republicans would change House rules if need be to make former President Trump the next House Speaker.

A handful of Republicans have floated the possibility of electing Trump to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted from his leadership position Tuesday.

Trump initially dismissed the call to action, saying he was focused on his presidential campaign. He later said he was open to the idea of a short-term position if it’s necessary to unify the Republican party.

Rule 26 began trending online as users were considering whether Trump could be Speaker, given his felony indictments. Rule 26, included in the House Republican Conference Rules, states that a “member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.”

In a Thursday interview with NewsMax, Steube brushed off the concerns, saying, “First of all, Trump wouldn’t be a member of the House. So at the current moment, the rules don’t apply to him.”

Steube said that if Trump’s prospects of becoming Speaker were to progress, he could guarantee that Republicans would make it happen.

“We are in the majority, we can change the rules at any time. There are things that we can do to change the rules and it will not be a problem,” he said.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) each have declared candidacy for the Speaker role, but it is unclear who will earn the support of the party before next week’s vote.