Former President Donald Trump has decided not to endorse any candidate as the Republican nominee for House speaker, stating that he plans to stay out of the race for now. Trump expressed his views on the House GOP's ongoing efforts to elect a new speaker during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, where he filed to run in the state's GOP primary. While it remains uncertain how much influence Trump's endorsement would have on the race, he recently endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan, who later withdrew from the race after failing to secure enough votes.

Trump admitted that many of the Republicans vying for the speaker nomination have reached out to him for support, but he stated that he would hold off on making any endorsements for the time being. However, he did speak with Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Republican Study Committee chairman Kevin Hern over the weekend. Despite these conversations, Trump reiterated his desire to stay out of the speaker's race, stating that he believes the candidates will eventually resolve their differences.

The Republican Party is scheduled to meet on Tuesday morning to select their next speaker nominee through a secret ballot. Currently, nine GOP lawmakers are competing for the nomination, but it remains unclear if any of them will be able to secure the 217 votes necessary to become the House speaker in the formal election.

The absence of a House speaker has caused turmoil within the GOP conference, leading to failed attempts to elect a successor for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The inability to unite behind a candidate has stalled legislative business in the House, leaving Congress unable to respond to various domestic and foreign crises. Some Republicans have proposed expanding the powers of interim speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry, but such a move would require support from Democrats.

The current slate of speaker candidates includes Emmer, Hern, Jack Bergman, Byron Donalds, Mike Johnson, Dan Meuser, Gary Palmer, Austin Scott, and Pete Sessions. Only Emmer and Scott voted to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Republicans, who hold a narrow majority in the House, were forced to restart the process of electing a speaker after dropping Jordan as their nominee due to a lack of support from colleagues.

The House Republicans' struggle to elect a new speaker stems from divisions within the party, triggered by McCarthy's removal and disagreements over government spending. The faction of eight Republicans, along with all 212 Democrats, ousted McCarthy for agreeing to a spending deal with President Joe Biden that they considered too large. The subsequent nominations of Scalise and Jordan failed to gain the necessary majority support, leading to the current open contest for the speakership.

The House Republicans will hold a caucus on Monday evening, where the nine candidates will present their cases. If a choice is made, the full House could vote again as early as Tuesday. The ongoing absence of a House speaker has left the chamber without direction, hindering legislative progress on crucial issues such as government funding and foreign policy matters.