By FARNOUSH AMIRI and JILL COLVIN
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump is in talks to visit Capitol Hill next week as Republicans debate who should be the next speaker of the House following Kevin McCarthy’s stunning ouster, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
The pending trip would be Trump’s first to the Capitol since leaving office and since his supporters attacked the building in a bid to halt the peaceful transition of power on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has been indicted in both Washington and Georgia over his efforts to overturn the results of the election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
Trump, the current GOP presidential front-runner, is likely to use any trip to further demonstrate his control over the Republican Party. House Republicans are deeply fractured and some are asking him to lead them — a suggestion he is also promoting after inflaming the divisions that forced out McCarthy as speaker.
Many in the GOP continue to downplay the violence on Jan. 6 that followed Trump’s exhortations to “fight like hell.” Among the Republicans who have floated Trump as an interim speaker is Texas Rep. Troy Nehls, who was photographed standing next to Capitol Police trying to secure the House chamber during the riot.
Trump told Fox News Digital he was heading to Washington on Tuesday to meet with Republicans. Three people familiar with the matter disclosed the talks about visiting the Capitol to The Associated Press speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement.
Trump would most likely attend a closed-door candidate forum that Republicans plan to hold Tuesday evening ahead of a speakership vote that could happen as soon as Wednesday, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
The former president’s involvement may further complicate the maneuvering of the two leading candidates for speaker, Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio. Both are trying to lock in the 218…
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