U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wants to make Donald Trump Speaker of the House, whether or not the former president is a member of congress.
“After the next election cycle when we take back the House of Representatives, when we send [current Speaker] Nancy Pelosi back to the filth of San Francisco, my commitment to you is that my vote for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives will go to Donald J. Trump,” he told attendees at a July 3 Trump “Save America” rally in Sarasota, Fla., according to Newsweek.
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Since Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, his supporters have participated in deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol and attended two campaign-style rallies.
One was held late last month in Ohio and the second was the Sarasota event this weekend where Gaetz delivered his pledge.
Gaetz may actually be able to vote for Trump to be Speaker of the House. According to U.S. House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House does not technically need to be an elected member of the body. However, there has never been a speaker elected from outside of the chamber.
As Gaetz said, Republicans would have to secure more seats in the chamber. Currently, the House has 223 Democratic members and 213 Republican members as well as five vacant seats.
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Apart from his vow to make Trump Speaker of the House, Gaetz used his time at the rally podium to throw swipes at critical race theory, pandemic-related lockdowns, something he referred to as “the woketopia” and “big tech”. Gaetz also said he would work to make sure Trump is elected president in 2024.
Although Trump has not officially announced he would run, he recently told Sean Hannity that he has already decided whether or not he would.
During the July 3 rally Trump spoke about his unsubstituted theories about the 2020 election and a New York prosecutor’s case against the Trump Organization and other topics. He also praised Gaetz.
Since this spring, Gaetz has been under investigation by the FBI for a possible violation of sex trafficking laws. He claims the investigation is part of an extortion plot. Newsweek said he addressed the allegations July 3 by saying “I'm a canceled man in some corners of the internet, but in the core of my bones I'm a Florida man and it feels good to be home.”