Now that Donald Trump has endorsed Jim Jordan to be the next Republican speaker of the House — we’re assuming someone told Trump how much work the job involves, even to do it as badly as Kevin McCarthy did — it’s looking a bit less likely that Trump will take his acolytes up on the offer anyway.
But just to illustrate the lengths the GOP chaositorium would be willing to go to for Dear Leader, let’s enjoy — if that’s the word — this video of Rep. Greg Steube (R-The Face-Eating State) explaining on Newsmax that not only is Donald Trump above the law, he’s also above the House rules, namely the one what says
“A member who has been indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years’ imprisonment may be imposed should resign from any committees … and should step aside from any party caucus or conference leadership position.”
Via invaluable Xitter videomeister Acyn of MeidasTouch, here’s Steube pointing out to host Eric Bolling how completely REDONKULOUS it would be to let a little rule get in the way of having Trump on Capitol Hill, trolling Joe Biden every day until the election, or at least on the three or four days each month the House actually shows up.
You see, for one thing, Trump isn’t a “member” of the House, not even a weird mushroom-shaped member, and for Thing Two, Republicans would happily change that rule that already doesn’t apply to Trump anyway.
Bolling, imitating an unidentified somebody on Fox, with funny exaggerated pompous voice and gestures: Well, there may be a rule where if you’re under indictment … or you’re pfft … some sort of felony indictment [switches to normal pompous Bolling voice to be outraged] — before you’re even convicted! — that you can’t run for speaker. Congressman, I don’t … think that … is there a rule I don’t know about?
Steube, after scowling and puffing up his lower lip like an exotic lizard at the word “indictment”: I will nip that in the bud right now because I’ve seen Democrats tweeting that back at me. First of all, Trump wouldn’t be a member of the House, so at the current moment rules don’t apply to him because he’s not a member of the House, and only the rules apply to a member of the House.
And I can guarantee you that if that were to happen, we are in the majority, we can change the rules at any time, there are things that we can do to change the rules, and it will not be a problem.
Bolling: Well whaddya know!
Not a member of the House, you see. Not. A. Member (of the House). And besides, he was on a break! *
* Here Dok fired himself for making a Friends reference, which just last week he very publicly abjured. We wish him well in his future endeavors.
Steube went on, rhapsodizing about how awesome it would be — literally saying “How awesome it would be” — for Trump to be right there Owning The Libs, especially because that would be such great revenge on the Democrats who for some reason removed McCarthy. There’s more projection than a multiplex on a hot humid weekend here:
Steube, in awe: How awesome would it be for President Trump to be the leader of the House and negotiate with Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden spending policies from a conservative majority House? I can’t think of somebody that would be better to do it.
I fully support the notion, I especially support it if we can’t come together as a conference. We need to have somebody that can unite the party, everybody can get behind, and wouldn’t it just be sweet to all these Democrats who kicked out our former speaker, that they got rid of Kevin McCarthy and now they have to deal with President Trump?
No doubt Steube would be open to other accommodations for the Great Man, too, because once you’ve swept aside the “no felony indictments” thing, you’ve pretty much opened the door to anything.
For instance, let’s say Trump realizes after the first day that he hates being Speaker of the House Donald Trump, but is also too much of a Donald Trump to admit it? Easy! Grant the new speaker the power to serve as Speaker in Absentia, because he has a heavy campaign and inchoate raging schedule to keep, and bring in a series of subs, starting with anyone who was ever on Celebrity Apprentice and then moving on through all the indicted and unindicted co-conspirators in his multiple criminal cases, indictment no longer being an obstacle.
Some of them might even be far better, or more entertaining, House speakers than any of the Republicans who’ve held the job since Newt Gingrich.
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