- Florida Congressman Rep. Byron Donalds is running for House Speaker.
- Following his nomination, some members of Florida’s congressional delegation, including Rep. Cory Mills, have shown support for Donalds.
- State GOP leaders, like Chairman Christian Ziegler, view him as a strong and well-positioned candidate.
Following a back-and-forth affair that saw Rep. Kevin McCarthy ousted and would-be successor Rep. Jim Jordan fail to accrue the necessary support, Florida Congressman Rep. Byron Donalds is running for House Speaker.
Donalds, who notably endorsed former President Donald Trump over Gov. Ron DeSantis and is viewed as an early frontrunner for Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial race, has been confirmed by multiple media outlets to have nominated himself for the position. While lawmakers will adjourn for the weekend, a vote is anticipated early next week. Attempts made by The Capitolist to contact Donalds’ Washington D.C. and district offices went unanswered.
Following preliminary reports, Florida’s congressional delegation began coalescing around Donalds, including Rep. Cory Mills.
“I supported Jim Jordan for our next Speaker,” said Mills on X. “Unfortunately my votes for him on the floor and in conference to remain Speaker designate was not enough. I now support Byron Donalds for the next Speaker of the House.”
State Republican leadership, such as party Chairman Christian Ziegler, weighed in on Donalds’ entry into the race, referring to him as well-positioned to lead the party. Concurrently, former Florida GOP Chairman Sen. Joe Gruters called Donalds a “proven winner.”
“Byron Donalds seems to be one of the best to be positioned as a consensus pick for Speaker, said Ziegler. “There are many reasons for this … let’s give the people a Conservative they will be happy with vs. an unknown/boring pick for DC-insider reasons.”
Jordan, an Ohio Republican, stepped down from the House speakership race after failing for the third time to gather sufficient backing from his Republican colleagues, culminating in a secret ballot on Friday that saw a majority vote against his continued attempt to win the position. The House’s lack of a speaker has widespread implications, particularly in the sense that it cannot progress any legislation without one, posing a challenge, especially with time-sensitive decisions like government funding that is about to expire.
This is a developing story.