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Two years after former President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6 to stop the election certification of\u00a0Joe Biden<\/strong>, Congress is still in chaos as his presence haunts the House chamber and continues to fracture the Republican party.<\/p>\n Although a group of Republicans\u00a0refused to back Trump\u2019s pick for speaker<\/a>, Kevin McCarthy<\/strong>, last night gave new life to the former president, thanking the former president even though he did\u00a0not provide any additional votes for McCarthy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n After McCarthy won the race for House Speaker\u2014after four days and 15 rounds of voting\u2014he gave credit to Trump: \u201cBut I do\u00a0want to especially thank President Trump<\/a>. I don\u2019t think anybody should doubt his influence. He was with me from the beginning,\u201d McCarthy told reporters after a dragged-out path to victory. \u201cHe was with me from the beginning \u2014 somebody wrote the doubt of whether he was there \u2014 and he was all in<\/a>,\u201d McCarthy added. \u201cHe would call me, and he would call others. And he really was \u2014 I was just talking to him tonight \u2014 helping get those final votes.\u201d<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The lack of unwavering loyalty to Trump\u2019s pleas exemplifies Trump\u2019s waning influence in the party, while McCarthy\u2019s display of gratitude underscores the hold the former president still has on many Republicans in Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rep.\u00a0Lauren Boebert<\/strong>\u00a0(R-Colo.) said that Trump had spoken to her and other rebels \u201cto tell us to knock this off.<\/a>” Still, they did not relent. On Thursday, Rep.\u00a0Ryan Zinke<\/strong> (R-Mont.), a McCarthy ally and former Secretary of the Interior for Trump, said Trump\u2019s influence is\u00a0\u201cabsolutely\u201d waning<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the\u00a0New York Times<\/em> reported that\u00a0Trump called<\/a> Reps.\u00a0Matt Gaetz<\/strong> (R-Fla.) and\u00a0Andy Biggs<\/strong> (R-Ariz.)\u2014two of the \u201cNever Kevins\u201d\u2014on Friday, likely encouraging them to switch their final votes from anti-McCarthy to \u201cpresent,\u201d which gave McCarthy the necessary votes to win.<\/p>\n The former president was an outspoken advocate for McCarthy, often writing in support of him on Truth Social, Trump\u2019s social platform.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Trump wrote: \u201cSome really good conversations took place last night, and it\u2019s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to\u00a0VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL<\/a>, TAKE THE VICTORY\u2026DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT\u2019S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!\u201d<\/p>\n In a viral photo, Rep.\u00a0Marjorie Taylor Greene<\/strong> (R-Ga.) was captured in the chamber holding up her phone, displaying the initials \u201cDT,\u201d ostensibly speaking to the former president shortly after McCarthy earned enough votes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTwitter content<\/h4>\n