Democrat unveils bill to allow only House members to serve as Speaker

A new bill introduced on Monday by Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) would allow only an elected House member to serve as Speaker after former President Trump Donald TrumpTrollers take on LeBron James over new Space Jam film Graham says he'd 'leave town' to stop .5T spending plan Controversy equals cash for Greene, Gaetz MORE called the suggestion that he seek the gavel "so interesting."

The Constitution does not directly state that the House Speaker must be a member of the chamber, but to date, the role has never been filled by an outsider.

Boyle argued that the statute should be made clear, even if electing someone outside of Congress to serve as Speaker remains a long shot. His bill, titled the Mandating That Being an Elected Member Be an Essential Requirement for Speakership Act, would explicitly limit eligibility to current House lawmakers.

"The Speaker of the U.S. House is second in the United States presidential line of succession. That Donald Trump's name would even be tossed around as a potential speaker in the people’s house, should serve as an alarm bell that our current requirements need to be amended in the name of protecting our nation and our democracy," Boyle said in a statement.

While all Speakers in U.S. history have been incumbent members of the House, any lawmaker can nominate whomever they wish during the roll call at the start of each session of Congress to elect the chamber's top-ranking leader.

In recent years, some lawmakers who didn't want to vote for their party's leader have opted to nominate outsiders.

In January 2019, for example, two Democrats voted for Sen. Tammy Duckworth Ladda (Tammy) Tammy DuckworthSchumer, Tim Scott lead as Senate fundraising pace heats up Here's what Congress is reading at the beach this summer The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Goldman Sachs - Democrats lean into midterm strategy as Senate returns to work MORE (D-Ill.), another voted for now-President Biden Joe BidenGraham says he'd 'leave town' to stop .5T spending plan Afghan ambassador, diplomats withdrawn from Islamabad Biden seeks to prove his skeptics wrong MORE, and yet another voted for voting rights activist and 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

And at the start of the current session of Congress in January, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) voted for Duckworth, Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) cast his vote for House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou JeffriesProgressive fighting turns personal on internal call over antitrust bills Democratic tensions simmer in House between left, center Court ruling sets up ever more bruising fight over tech MORE (N.Y.), and Democratic Reps. Mikie Sherrill Rebecca (Mikie) Michelle SherrillModerate Democrats call for 9/11-style panel to probe COVID-19 origins Paper industry, drugmakers spar over requirement to print prescribing information Overnight Energy: Climate emerges as infrastructure sticking point | US recovers millions in cryptocurrency paid to pipeline hackers | Chief scientist: NOAA is ' billion agency trapped in a .5 billion budget' MORE (N.J.), Elissa Slotkin Elissa SlotkinHouse GOP campaign arm hits vulnerable Democrats on inflation in July 4 ad campaign DHS official told lawmakers there's concern about Trump August reinstatement conspiracy theory Exclusive: Conservative group targets vulnerable Democrats over abortion MORE (Mich.) and Abigail Spanberger Abigail Davis SpanbergerModerate Democrats call for 9/11-style panel to probe COVID-19 origins Former staffer of Bob McDonnell launches challenge against Spanberger in Virginia Top Democrat leads bipartisan trip to Middle East MORE (Va.) voted "present" instead of endorsing Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiFunding fight imperils National Guard ops Where is 'President Andrew Shepherd' when we need him? Trump says Barr 'never' told him he thought he'd lose election MORE (D-Calif.).

Trump last month was asked about the idea of him running for the House next year to try to win the Speaker's gavel during a radio show appearance.

“That’s so interesting,” he said in response to far-right radio host Wayne Allyn Root, noting that others had suggested he run for Senate. "But you know what, your idea might be better. It's very interesting."

Trump, who has floated another potential run for the White House in 2024, later said through a spokesman that he does not want to hold the gavel.

"[Trump] has zero desire to be Speaker," Trump spokesman Jason Miller told Punchbowl News.

While a handful of Democrats cast votes for people other than Pelosi in January, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Kevin McCarthyControversy equals cash for Greene, Gaetz Ex-Trump official: 'No. 1 national security threat I've ever seen' is GOP Top House antitrust Republican forms 'Freedom from Big Tech Caucus' MORE (R-Calif.) did not face any defections from Republicans at the time.