There was only one way the chaos in the Republican-led House – likened Thursday by one of its members to a “stupid clown car” – could get more extreme.
Enter Donald Trump.
The ex-president dived into the mayhem following the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, characteristically seeking to cast himself as kingmaker and to steal the spotlight for himself.
On a day of drama that recalled the pandemonium inside the Trump White House, the ex-president’s camp floated rumors of his potential first visit to the US Capitol since his mob ransacked it on January 6, 2021. Then Trump teased the possibility that he could even step in as speaker himself on an interim basis.