Nine candidates are up to take the job of Speaker of the House, following the retraction of Rep. Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary Chair, from the role this week.

The nine candidates are listed below:

  • Jack Bergman (MI-01)
  • Byron Donalds (FL-19)
  • Tom Emmer (MN-06)
  • Kevin Hern (OK-01)
  • Mike Johnson (LA-04)
  • Dan Meuser (PA-09)
  • Gary Palmer (AL-06)
  • Austin Scott (GA-08)
  • Pete Sessions (TX-17)

Rep. Byron Donalds, in particular, has been gaining traction as a level-headed conservative who can appeal to the MAGA ‘America First’ wing of the GOP.

“I am running to become the next Speaker of the House. We need to: Secure our border; Fund our government responsibly; Advance our conservative agenda; Expand our Republican majority Let’s get to work!” he posted on X along with an interview on Newsmax.

As reported by Trending Politics, multiple Republicans who voted against Jim Jordan have announced their support for his Freedom Caucus colleague Donalds. The endorsements may prove crucial if additional Jordan holdouts endorse Donald Trump.

Donalds formally declared his candidacy for House Speaker on Friday, after having been mentioned multiple times. In January of this year, Donalds cast a notable vote against former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the third ballot. McCarthy opponents nominated him in subsequent ballots, and he also received votes in this week’s ballots.

“Look, let’s be very clear. Our House right now, we’re having some issues. We can repair those issues, but it requires us to be unified,” Donalds told Newsmax shortly after announcing his candidacy. “Number one, go back to business and secure our border, actually fund this government responsibly and then continue to lay out that conservative vision for the people who sent us here. That job can still be done. I believe I am the leader that can get that job done.”

In other news, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) claims that he is being forced to relocate his office in Windsor because the building owner “evicted” him for refusing to support House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) bid for House Speaker.

Buck, who has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and other corporate media outlets in recent weeks, told NBC’s Kristen Welker that he has received “death threats” for refusing to vote for Jordan. Additionally, he complained about the avalanche of calls from constituents imploring him to vote for Jordan.

The upheaval in the Speaker’s race after the ouster of Kevin McCarthy has proven to be a nagging distraction amid many brewing national exigencies — such as the border crisis, the ongoing Ukraine proxy war, and escalating regional conflict in the Middle East.

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