Trump's former interior secretary says the ex-president's influence is clearly waning: 'He's behind McCarthy, and they ignored him'

• The Trump administration's former interior secretary says Trump is losing his sway in the GOP.
• Ryan Zinke told CNN's Laura Coates, "He's behind McCarthy, and they ignored him."

Donald Trump's former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke says the former president is losing his influence on the GOP.

The former president has repeatedly supported Kevin McCarthy's bid for Republican Speaker of the House. But, after more than a dozen votes in the House, Trump's endorsement has yet to make a difference on McCarthy's success.

In an interview with CNN shared online by Mediaite, Zinke agreed with host Laura Coates that Trump's influence is "absolutely" waning.

And Zinke suggested the evidence is in McCarthy's inability to secure the Speaker title.

"He's behind McCarthy," Zinke told Coates on CNN, "and they ignored him."

On Wednesday, Trump repeated his support of McCarthy, posting on his social media platform Truth Social, "It's now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA."

But a few hours later in the House's 5th round of voting, Trump's passionate plea failed to convert a single Republican vote in favor of McCarthy.

On Thursday, Trump himself received a single vote for the Speaker seat from Florida Representative Matt Gaetz. Zinke told Coates that that vote was just a "castaway" and should not be taken seriously.