Trump endorses Jim Jordan for House speaker

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday night endorsed Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for the newly-vacated House speaker role.

In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that the 59-year-old Jordan "has my complete & total endorsement."

Jordan has been one of Trump's biggest congressional allies. In January 2021 — just days after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and right before he left office — Trump awarded Jordan the Medal of Freedom in a closed-door ceremony, the nation's highest civilian honor.  

In his post Thursday, the president lauded Jordan for his college wrestling career and his education credentials.

Both Jordan, who is chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, announced their bids for House speaker Wednesday.

Hours before Trump announced his endorsement, Jordan told CBS News' Nikole Killion, "I feel like the momentum is all moving in a really good direction," and he said that the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Scott Perry, other committee chairs and members said they would back his bid to be speaker.

A vote is expected next week in the House, which has been in recess since the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is currently serving as speaker pro tempore.

In a historic move, the House voted by a margin of 216 to 210 on Tuesday to oust McCarthy. Eight far-right Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to remove him, marking the first time in American history that a House speaker has been removed in a no-confidence vote.

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a major critic of McCarthy, forced the vote when he put forth the motion to vacate the office of speaker. Gaetz said his decision came after McCarthy helped pass a bipartisan 45-day stopgap bill last weekend to prevent an impending government shutdown. Gaetz claimed that McCarthy had betrayed conservatives in pushing the bill through. 

Some far-right Republicans have called for Trump to be nominated as House speaker. Under congressional rules, the House speaker does not have to be a member of Congress. However, the House has never had a non-member in the speaker's role in its 234-year history.

-- Melissa Quinn and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report. 

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• Jim Jordan
• Donald Trump
• Kevin McCarthy