Lawmakers and a source familiar with the situation, told Breitbart News that Former President Trump played a vital role behind the scenes, in bringing about a compromise among House Republicans to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R) CA, as speaker of the House of Representatives. McCarthy finally sealed the deal and garnered the votes necessary for the position, on the historic 15th ballot for the speakership Friday night.
Primarily driven by House Freedom Caucus members, repeatedly voted against McCarthy, the matter had come to a stalemate by this block of 21 Republicans. Voting had raged on since Tuesday, without McCarthy having enough votes to become speaker. Budging enough detractors to land the California Republican the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy and his allies struck a deal with the delegation which apparently worked.
According to several GOP members of Congress, and a source familiar with the conversations, chief among those responsible for forging a compromise was former president Trump. Crediting Trump for his work helping to bring about a deal, Rep. Jim Jordan (R) OH, who will chair the Judiciary Committee in the 118th Congress, applauded Trumps help. Reportedly, he told Breitbart News-
“This doesn’t get done without the support and leadership of President Trump,”
-Rep. Jim Jordan (R) OH
Also acknowledging the 45th president’s role in the negotiations, Rep. Byron Donalds (R) FL, said while speaking with reporters on Friday, that Trump-
“has played a good part in this.”…“I want you to understand, this is a process of the members of Congress, and so this is something where the members have had a lot of time around each other to try to get comfortable, have real conversations, and get to an outcome,”
-Rep. Byron Donalds (R) FL
Donalds was among those key votes who finally coalesced behind McCarthy, and allowed the 118th Congress to start conducting business. He had supported McCarthy on the first day of voting, but once it became apparent he did not have the votes at the time, Donalds began voting against him.
Another source, stated that Trump had been engaged in the process since early December, making phone calls throughout the month to whip votes and consolidate support behind McCarthy. The source added that these calls were not mere one-offs, but included ongoing correspondences, with many different lawmakers. Including in talks last night, and this morning, ahead of the crucial breakthrough for McCarthy, according to the source, Trump’s involvement persisted throughout this week.
According to ABC News Investigative Reporter Katherine Faulders, Trump was said to have made calls to Reps. Matt Gaetz (R) FL and Andy Biggs (R) AZ, both of whom had voted against McCarthy for days, and told them that the matter needed to be resolved. Ultimately on the 15th round, they both voted “present,” helping to lower the vote threshold for McCarthy.
On Friday Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) GA told Breitbart News that Trump’s “role was huge” in the negotiations, pointing to his statements in support of McCarthy this week, and the phone calls he was making behind the scenes.
In a statement Green said-
“His statements that he put out in support of Kevin McCarthy, it was like cement for our 201 that refused to move away from Kevin,”…“It told many of them that, ‘Look, the support is there.’ Trump telling everyone in that statement that ‘I’m calling. I’m working the phones. I’m talking with everybody.’ That was support that was needed at a critical time when members could have fallen off.” and concluding “… “And thankfully, they didn’t because America is truly about to see the most conservative Republican speaker of the House that they have seen in decades.”
-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) GA
“Humility is the true key to success. Successful people lose their way at times. They often embrace and overindulge from the fruits of success. Humility halts this arrogance and self-indulging trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth, remaining focused and hungry to continue the journey of success.”
-Rick Pitino