US House Speaker: Explainer: Why Donald Trump can’t become US House Speaker – for now

Can former US President Donald Trump, who is in the reckoning to be the Republican candidate for next year’s White House race, be elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives?
What are the legal provisions and what tradition says about Trump being eligible to contest the Speaker election? The US Constitution does not explicitly mandate that the position must be filled by an elected House member. So, not being a House member is not a disqualification for Trump. But what has been the practice so far? Traditionally, the House has chosen a member from its own ranks to assume the role of speaker.

However, certain supporters of Donald Trump from the US House have proposed the idea that he could potentially take on this role.
On Wednesday, Trump too disclosed that he has been receiving inquiries about the possibility of becoming the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. “A lot of people have been calling me about speaker. All I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party,” Trump told reporters.
But, a little-known House GOP rule could potentially render him ineligible due to felony indictments, a New York Post report says.

As per the report, according to the Republican Conference Rules of the 118th Congress, “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.”
Trump currently faces a total of 91 charges spread across four criminal cases, potentially resulting in a staggering 712 years and six months of imprisonment if convicted of all charges. The existing rules could be amended to accommodate Speaker Trump. However, given the significant legal jeopardy he faces and the possibility of a rematch against President Biden in the upcoming election, it seems unlikely, at least for now, that the former president would assume the role, the NY Post report says.

Former Republican governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, a vocal critic of Trump and a 2024 presidential primary rival, dismissed the idea of Speaker Trump as a jest.
Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, Kevin Hern, Patrick McHenry, Tom Emmer are some of the candidates who are in the race to be the next House Speaker.

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