Trump endorses Jim Jordan for House Speaker

The hardline conservative from Ohio has led the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden

Donald Trump has endorsed staunch conservative Congressman Jim Jordan's bid to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

"He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House," Mr Trump said on Friday. "[He] has my complete & total endorsement!"

Mr Jordan, 59, was one of the first Republicans to join the race to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by members of his own party last week.

It was the first time in history that a Speaker has lost a no-confidence vote.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump said Mr Jordan had "been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington".

"He is a STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment," he added.

Mr Jordan is one of the most vocal defenders of the former president in Congress.

The hardline conservative from Ohio, currently serving his ninth term, has also led the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

He was founding chairman in 2015 of the House Freedom Caucus, a disruptive hardline group one former Republican speaker labelled "legislative terrorists".

His bid has already received the backing of several prominent conservatives.

But he could struggle to win the the support of centrist Republicans and, if he needs Democratic support, he will likely receive none. Candidates need a simple majority of 218 votes to secure the position.

Mr Trump opted to endorse Mr Jordan over Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who has also announced his candidacy.

Matt Gaetz - the rebel who led the coup against Mr McCarthy - has endorsed both Mr Jordan and Mr Scalise for the role. "I'm for both of them right now," he told Bloomberg on Wednesday, adding that he was eager to hear both of their "plans and their vision".

Other possible successors include the political newcomer Kevin Hern and Patrick McHenry, who is temporarily serving in the role while the process to appoint a permanent Speaker takes place.

Fox News announced on Thursday that it would host a joint interview on 9 October with Mr Jordan, Mr Scalise and Mr Hern hosted by anchor Bret Baier. Mr Baier plans to "press" the congressmen on who should be elected speaker and the biggest issues facing the Republican Party and Congress, according to the news outlet.

Mr Trump earlier teased that he would be open to temporarily filling the role, with reports suggesting he was considering visiting Capitol Hill. But sources told CNN on Thursday that visit was now unlikely to happen.

Members will begin to discuss who could serve in the role next week, but it could take days or weeks to find someone who could win enough support in the divided House.

Mr Gaetz triggered the process to remove the Speaker after saying he was unhappy with Mr McCarthy for working with Democrats to pass a short-term spending deal to avert a government shutdown.

It was representative of larger tensions between Mr McCarthy and a right-wing faction of his party that previously tried to block his election to Speaker in January.