George W. Bush As House Speaker? Why A Democratic Congressman Proposes Former President For The Job

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made history as the first congressional member to be voted out of the position in U.S. history

The House of Representatives, with its Republican majority, is grappling with endorsing their next Speaker. Now, a former president's name has been floated as a potential successor, a suggestion coming from a Democratic Congressman.

What Happened: On Wednesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) lost a second bid to become the Speaker of the House, which has created more confusion among his GOP colleagues.

Jordan was opposed by 20 Republicans on the first vote, with the number growing to 22 in Wednesday’s second ballot.

Republican House members are set to nominate a candidate they believe can garner broad party support, with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) emerging as the frontrunner. McHenry has been serving as the interim Speaker of the House since McCarthy's ousting.

Democratic representatives have voiced criticism over the Republican majority's inability to select a new Speaker of the House.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who has been a member of Congress since 1997, proposed a new name earlier this week.

Sharman said that former president George W. Bush could become the next Speaker of the House. The Congressman said he’s not a fan of Bush and the way the Iraq War was handled, but thinks a reasonable Republican should get picked to get Congress business back in action.

“I could see President George W. Bush serving as Speaker of the House,” Sherman said during an interview with Forbes.

“I would think that any reasonable Republican would be somebody that Democrats could work with – if it was part of a system where you didn’t have five of the most extreme Republicans blocking important legislation.”

Sherman said Jordan is not a good Speaker of the House pick and would be a “disaster.”

“Jim Jordan would be among the worst speakers we could have. The only thing that’s good about it, is it’s good politics for Democrats.”

Sherman said that if Jordan is the face of the Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump is the face of the Republican Party overall, a lot of people will vote for Democrats in the future.

Sherman said he would pick Bush as a traditional Republican who isn’t doing anything right now and could effectively reinstate a system and bring bills to the House floor. “It’s not the person, it’s the program.”

Sherman said getting votes done and business conducted is more important than the personality of the Speaker of the House.

Related Link: Exclusive: Austin Scott Got Raitoed On X, Loses Speaker Of The House Nomination 

Why It’s Important: The reference to Bush follows discussions among numerous Republican House members who have floated the idea of former President Donald Trump as a possible replacement for the Speaker of the House role.

A new Speaker is elected by the House every two years with each new class, or selected when the previous Speaker dies, resigns, or is removed from office.

The position is also second in the presidential line of succession, following only the Vice President. With Bush already having served two full terms as President, he would be unable to become president again, moving the order of succession to the next candidate.

The U.S. Constitution laid out plans for a Speaker of the House under Article 1, Section 2.

What the Constitution didn’t lay out were any requirements for the position. Unlike the roles of a senator and the U.S. President, which have age requirements and other rules to follow, a Speaker of the House can be anyone.

Every existing Speaker has been an elected official and member of the House of Representatives, making a potential election of Trump or Bush unlikely. Every Speaker has also belonged to the majority party, which is not a requirement.

It is worth noting that only one president has served as House Speaker, with James Polk serving in the role before he became president.

Though Trump's name was previously in the mix, it hasn't been mentioned lately. Additionally, a point of interest could be Rule 26 of the House Republican Conference Rules for the 118th Congress. Under the rules, a member of the Republican leadership, including the Speaker would step aside if indicted on a felony that carries a sentence of two or more years' imprisonment.

This rule could keep Trump from being eligible.

Previously, Trump dismissed the idea of taking on the role of Speaker of the House. Speaking recently at a court appearance, Trump said he has been asked about it and will do whatever “is best for the country and the Republican Party.”

Read Next: Who Will Be The Next Speaker Of The House? 

Photo: Shutterstock