Trump for speaker of House? Democrat claims Republicans are 'repeatedly' pushing Trump for top post

Democrats are floating the possibility that Donald Trump could become speaker of the House if Republicans manage to retake control of the House.

Wait — Trump?

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) claimed on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that Republican lawmakers are considering installing Trump as House speaker.

In fact, Raskin claimed that Republicans have "repeatedly" discussed the possibility.

"It's a real problem for Kevin McCarthy now because there are certain pro-Trumpists within his House caucus who refuse to accept that he's really with Trump, and they want to get rid of McCarthy," Raskin claimed.

"We know that the hard-right Freedom Caucus people are in search of another candidate. And one potential candidate whose name has been floated is Donald Trump himself because the speaker of the House does not have to be a member of the House," he alleged. "And they are talking about putting Trump right there."

The Maryland Democrat cited Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) as one lawmaker who could support Trump for the post.

But Biggs has not indicated that he will support Trump. Instead, Biggs himself is going to campaign for speaker, the Wall Street Journal reported.

What is the bigger picture?

While some Republicans in the past have floated Trump as a House speaker candidate, Raskin provided no evidence to back his claim that Republicans are internally pushing for Trump now.

Since Election Day, not a single Republicans has publicly backed Trump for the position.

Raskin's rhetorical sleight-of-hand, however, is clear. Democrats understand the red wave never materialized because of Trump's influence in the 2022 midterm elections — hence why moderate Republicans often won reelection in landslides, while Trump-endorsed candidates either lost or won narrowly — so they will continue tying Republicans to Trump.

Still, Republicans are expected to win control of the House, albeit by a small majority. McCarthy is the favorite to become speaker, but his path will not be easy.

"All I’ll say at the moment is McCarthy doesn’t have 218, and there will be an alternative challenger," a spokesman for Biggs told WSJ.