Dems Panic, Introduce Bill To Block Trump From Becoming Eligible to Serve As House Speaker If Not Elected to Congress

At the beginning of June, we reported that former President Donald Trump found it the possibility of considering a run for Congress so he could potentially serve as Speaker of the House “interesting.”

Since then, it has been researched by some and reported that he might not even technically have to be elected to be appointed to the role, were the Republicans to take the majority in that chamber.

U.S. House Rep Brendan Boyle (D-PA) is seeking to change that with a bill that he introduced yesterday called the MEMBERS Act, which stands for Mandating that being an Elected Member Be an Essential Requirement for Speakership.

Boyle said in a statement on the bill, “That Donald Trump’s name would even be tossed around as a potential speaker in the house, should serve as an alarm bell.”

“This legislation would serve as a check ag/those who seek to undermine the authority and responsibilities of the Speaker’s office,” Boyle explained.

Boyle added that “The Speaker of the U.S. House is second in line to the United States presidential line of succession.”

"That Donald Trump’s name would even be tossed around as a potential speaker in the house, should serve as an alarm bell. This legislation would serve as a check ag/those who seek to undermine the authority and responsibilities of the Speaker’s office.” https://t.co/JxJhtc4lZQ pic.twitter.com/7ZmWhkqakN

— Rep. Brendan Boyle (@CongBoyle) July 19, 2021

As Forbes noted, Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the House the power to “choose their speaker and other officers” without any specific requirements, though every speaker in U.S. history has also been a House member.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) claims to have Trump’s backing for his inevitable bid for the speakership and although Trump’s team denies that he wants the job, that hasn’t stopped Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) from vowing to nominate the Trump anyway, Forbes reported as well.

There haven’t been any speakers who were not members of the House, but several non-members have gotten votes during speaker elections, including in 2019 when, former Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a Democrat from New York, voted for now President Joe Biden due to his opposition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).