Hannity Names His Choice for Speaker of the House — and the Republican Exited Politics Years Ago

Should we prepare for an encore?

Conservative radio talk show host Sean Hannity announced Thursday night that he would endorse former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to reclaim the role of speaker.

Asked by a fan who his choice was for speaker, Hannity didn't hesitate to name Gingrich.

When contacted by TheBlaze over Twitter, Hannity said his tweet should be taken as an official endorsement.

Gingrich had appeared earlier in the day on Hannity's radio program and conceded he would consider taking the job if the 218 votes could be secured.

“If you were to say to me 218 have called you up and given you their pledge, obviously no citizen could ever turn down that kind of challenge,” Gingrich told Hannity.

He compared the scenario to George Washington leaving retirement to serve as the nation's first president.

“This is why George Washington came out of retirement, because there are moments you can’t avoid,” Gingrich said.

Gingrich served as speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999, becoming famous for his iconic "Contract With America."

Since House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) dropped out of the race for speaker, leadership has urged Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to run. Ryan had previously said he was not interested in the job.

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