Tom Emmer wins Speaker nomination in GOP’s third try for the gavel

The Hill ^ | 10/24/23 12:16 PM ET | Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell

[JSM_Liberty]

House Republicans nominated House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) for Speaker on Tuesday, making him the third GOP lawmaker who will attempt to get 217 votes to secure the gavel.

The conference selected Emmer — the No. 3 House Republican — for the position in a secret ballot during an internal election that lasted three hours, choosing him over six other candidates vying for the job. Two Republicans withdrew their names from the race before voting began.

Emmer, 62, will now take his nomination to the House floor, where he will have to muster enough votes to win the gavel — a heavy lift that the previous two GOP Speaker nominees failed to achieve. If all lawmakers are present and vote for a specific candidate, Emmer will need at least 217 votes.

It may also be a hard climb for Emmer, who has a less conservative voting record than some members would like.

He has voted in favor of codifying same-sex marriage; in favor of spending bills and a debt limit deal that outraged hardliners; and opposed votes on Jan. 6, 2021, objecting to 2020 election results.

Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.) said he will not back Emmer for Speaker because of his vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which was passed by Congress last year and gives federal protections to same-sex marriages.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) on Tuesday said the conservative House Freedom Caucus is not committing to backing Emmer on the floor.

“We’ll see, all of them have different characters, different qualities and we’ll see how it goes,” he told reporters when asked if he would back Emmer.

“We want to sit down with whoever gets it as a Freedom Caucus and understand what their roles —what their roles will be, what they want to push and things like that,” he added.

Emmer’s nomination is the latest development in the long-winded Speaker saga, which has fractured the GOP conference and left the House at a standstill. The chamber is unable to conduct legislative business on the floor without installing a permanent Speaker or empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), a reality that has prevented lawmakers from advancing key priorities like government funding and aid for Israel and Ukraine.

Tuesday marked exactly three weeks since eight Republicans banded with Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his post.

And for Emmer — the no-nonsense former collegiate hockey player — Tuesday marks the pinnacle of his career on Capitol Hill. The Minnesota Republican came to Congress in 2015 and served two stints as chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) before rising to majority whip.

Emmer led the House GOP’s campaign arm when Republicans regained the majority in 2022, winning a net-nine seats that delivered them their slim, five-seat majority. Since that victory, he has been instrumental in helping the GOP conference secure a list of legislative wins.

Even Freedom Caucus members have praised Emmer throughout the year for being an honest broker. His office has been a frequent gathering place for Republicans this year as they hashed out internal disagreements.

In a letter to colleagues announcing his candidacy, Emmer pledged to “always be honest and direct with all of you, even if we disagree.”

“I will never make a promise I cannot fulfill,” Emmer wrote. “I expect to be held accountable, and you can expect that we will also keep you to your word.”

The House GOP’s path to nominating Emmer was muddy.

Last week, House Republicans voted to drop Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as the conference’s nominee after he fell short of the gavel on three floor votes. Before that, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) withdrew his name from the race after Jordan backers said they would not support him on the House floor.

The floodgates then opened, with nine candidates throwing their hat in the ring as the conference’s next best chance to break the Speaker impasse.

Republican Reps. Dan Meuser (Pa.) and Gary Palmer (Ala.) withdrew their names before voting began, while Emmer, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) remained in the running.

Emmer was seen as an early frontrunner in the crowded field to be the third Republican Speaker nominee because his rank in the GOP conference, his experience of running in leadership races and an early endorsement from McCarthy, who threw his support behind the Minnesotan even before he formally jumped in the race.

Emmer was also able to breathe a small sigh of relief after former President Trump made positive comments when asked about the Minnesota Republican — which followed negative remarks from Trump loyalists aimed at him.

Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, for example, called Emmer a “Trump hater.” And Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, speaking on former Bannon’s “War Room” show Friday, knocked Emmer for not yet endorsing Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Emmer has said he does not plan to endorse any primary candidate.

But while in New Hampshire on Tuesday, when a reporter said Emmer had not always been Trump’s biggest fan, the former president said: “I think he’s my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday, and he told me, ‘I’m your biggest fan,’ so I don’t know about that.”

“I’ve always gotten along with him,” Trump added of Emmer.

The pair also spoke ahead of Tuesday’s internal election.

[Dead Corpse]

Consider who he shared a studio with. Libertarian isn’t a swear word, but Tom at least was a “smaller Government conservative”... Which does align with libertarianism at times.

We could use a LOT of that “smaller government” mentality right now...

[Major Matt Mason]

The Republican vote would be split and the Democrats would win the White House for the next 20 years.

What evidence do you have that the GOP has done any "winning", even when they've held the executive and legislative branches? I see the Democrats doing a lot of winning, and in the process destroying the country. If a GOP that actually paid attention to their party platform and listened to their voters were winning, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in now. The GOP deserves to die at this point (the party, not the voters) because they are a party about nothing.

[dfwgator]

While you were busy voting, they were busy taking over the schools, churches, businesses and all other institutions.

And you don’t get to vote them out from there.

[x]

All this aggravation about who gets to sashay around the Capitol with a wooden hammer.

Do the Whips also get to snap real whips?

[lodi90]

Re: 66 - Will be interesting to see how Gaetz votes.

---

I expect the GOPe will peel off a few of 8 GOPers who helped Democrats oust McCarthy to get Emmer through. So the Incredible Shrinking Freedom Caucus will be down to 3-4 members when this is all done. Are we tired of winning, yet?

[Kazan]

Wrong. Conservatives are the vast majority of the Republican party and, arguably, the country. Even the credible threat of a third party would force the Republican establishment to buckle and represent it as much as the Democrats represent their base.

If the Republican failed to do so, the third party would put it out of business.

Anyone not willing to go to those measures is voting is allowing the Republican establishment to continue to sellout its base year and after year.

The definition of insanity is doing that same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

[jacknhoo]

Tom Emmer’s Liberty Score: D 69%

(MN)-R | In Office Since 2016

30.6% Liberal
69.4% Conservative

Conservative Review’s Liberty Score® grades members of Congress on the top 50 votes over a rolling six-year term.

03/24/2023 End Federal Control of Local Schools - Voted YES

12/08/2022 Forcing States to Redefine Marriage/Threaten Religious Liberty - Voted YES

08/12/2022 Pass the $700 billion so-called Inflation Reduction Act - Voted NO

07/21/2022 Violate religious liberty rights with rushed contraception bill - Voted NO

07/19/2022 Codify same-sex marriage and ban states from supporting traditional marriage - Voted YES

07/14/2022 Extend chain migration to adult dependents of employment visa holders - Voted YES

07/14/2022 Pass a $817 billion Defense spending bill without defunding military vaccine mandates - Voted YES

06/24/2022 Support Gun Control - Voted NO

05/10/2022 Fund the war in Ukraine through the end of Joe Biden’s first term with a $40 billion aid package - Voted YES

03/09/2022 Pass a $1.5 trillion Omnibus funding Biden’s vaccine mandates - Voted YES

03/09/2022 Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act and fund the Biden administration’s radical agenda - Voted NO

02/08/2022 Bail out the Post Office and stick Medicare with the bill - Voted YES

02/04/2022 Spend $300 billion on corporate welfare for chip manufacturers and politically-connected groups - Voted YES

12/02/2021 Fund Joe Biden’s progressive agenda and federal vaccine mandates through Feb. 18, 2022 - Voted NO

10/12/2021 Raise the Debt Limit to $28,800,000,000,000 - Voted NO

09/30/2021 Fund Joe Biden’s progressive agenda and federal vaccine mandates through Dec. 3 - Voted NO

09/24/2021 Codify Roe v. Wade in federal law and kill state restrictions on abortions - Voted NO

09/23/2021 Sign women up for the draft in the National Defense Authorization Act - Voted NO

08/24/2021 Overhaul U.S. elections to invalidate state election integrity laws - Voted NO

06/30/2021 Create Nancy Pelosi’s Jan. 6 Select Committee to policitize the riot at the U.S. Capitol - Voted NO

06/17/2021 Repeal Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq - Voted NO

04/22/2021 Make Washington D.C. the 51st state - Voted NO

03/18/2021 Codify and expand DACA anmesty for illegal immigrants - Voted NO

03/11/2021 Gun Control: Require new universal background checks and effectively outlaw private gun transfers - Voted NO

03/10/2021 Pass another $1.9 trillion “Coronavirus Relief” bill that is mostly unrelated to the virus - Voted NO

03/03/2021 The For the People Act: A bill to trample on states’ rights and hijack American elections - Voted NO

02/25/2021 Pass the Equality Act, which threatens religious liberty - Voted NO

12/18/2019 Advancing absurd articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump - Voted NO

12/17/2019 Pass a $555 billion Christmas minibus spending spree - Voted NO

12/06/2019 Make illegal aliens indentured servants, then give them amnesty - Voted NO

10/31/2019 Against the sham, Soviet-style impeachment resolution - Voted NO

09/19/2019 Keep spending on autopilot - Voted NO

07/25/2019 Suspend the debt ceiling, cancel the budget caps, and increase spending by $321 billion - Voted NO

06/04/2019 Pass massive amnesty for illegal aliens with no border security - Voted NO

06/03/2019 Pass a $19 billion spending bill without funding for the border crisis - Voted NO

05/17/2019 Pass the so-called ‘Equality’ Act - Voted NO

04/04/2019 Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act with gun control and transgender add-ons - Voted NO

03/08/2019 Pass an unconstitutional bill that will encourage voter fraud - Voted NO

02/28/2019 Expand review period for background checks - Voted NO

02/27/2019 Mandate universal background checks for gun purchases - Voted NO

02/26/2019 Overturn President Trump’s National Emergency Declaration on the border - Voted NO

02/14/2019 Surrender on the border wall; empower drug cartels and human traffickers - Voted NO

01/11/2019 Reduce accountability in Congress by making federal pay mandatory spending - Voted YES

12/20/2018 Release dangerous criminals from federal prisons - Voted YES

12/12/2018 Squash debate on US involvement in a foreign war - Voted YES

12/12/2018 Vote Alert: Pass a $900 billion farm bill with socialist policies - Voted YES

11/27/2018 Pass a bill that will lead to continued nation-building - Voted YES

09/26/2018 Pass a promise-breaking cromnibus before the election - Voted NO

07/25/2018 Extend a broken and almost-insolvent flood insurance program - Voted YES

06/27/2018 Pass amnesty with citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants - Voted NO

05/18/2018 Pass a trillion-dollar crony capitalist farm bill - Voted YES

03/22/2018 Advance a massive $1.3 trillion omnibus that funds Democrat priorities - Voted YES

03/22/2018 Pass a massive $1.3 trillion omnibus that funds Democrat priorities - Voted NO

02/09/2018 Vote Alert: Massive Spending, Debt Ceiling Raise, and Democrat Priorities Funded - Voted NO

01/19/2018 Protect Children Who Survive Abortions - Voted YES

01/11/2018 Vote Alert: Stop Unconstitutional Abuse of Americans’ Privacy - Voted YES

12/21/2017 Increase Spending by $81 Billion - Voted NO

12/20/2017 Tax Cut for America - Voted YES

10/12/2017 Bailout Flood Insurance Program & Spend $36.5B - Voted NO

That’s as far back as I’m going, you can vie the rest here:
https://libertyscore.conservativereview.com/tom-emmer

[basalt]

that is true...dems are getting outstanding political mileage out of this...the media are pounding away at the republicans “inability to govern”. All self inflicted....they will lose the House by 70 seats next year...and deserve it.

[Mouton]

Just like with Reagan!

[chickenlips]

You do understand I was being sarcastic, right?

The only well thought out plan Gaetz had was to get his face in front of some cameras and grab some attention, like the attention whore he is.

[DaxtonBrown]

At least the GOP has done us the favor of telling us just how much they hate our guts.

[Gary from Dayton]

I never thought what Gaetz was doing was wise but many freepers were delusional enough to buy in.

[dfwgator]

GOP pisses on your leg, then tells you it’s raining.

[Fury]

I understand. I should have put a sarcasm tag.

Emmer has higher scorecard ratings than McCarthy so that’s a plus.

[TBP]

Call your Member and tell him or her to vote no.

[Owen]

Ballotpedia says he voted NO on a Ukraine supplemental funding package. They may have been beyond the $40B noted above.

As for the folks saying Democrats will vote present or vote for him to get him installed . . . nope, that doesn’t fly. A motion to vacate can be immediately filed.

Gaetz WAS NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A PLAN. Stop whining there was none. He got rid of McCarthy. That was the plan. It was the only plan he needed to have.

Everything that has happened since is by no means negative.

Unless there is sympathy for the poor Swamp that faces upheaval.

[Flavious_Maximus]

No way can this cretin become speaker. Anyone who pushes the depraved homosexual agenda and open borders should be dead on arrival.

Let the house burn to the ground. The sooner the collapse comes then the quicker rebuilding from the ashes begins.

No surrender, no peace. /spit

[Gritty]

Emmer is worse than McCarthy or Scalise.

[McGavin999]

I just heard there are 20 no Emmers

[navymom1]

Thank you for saying this out loud. With all the backstabbing, lying and corruption in the GOP to now when the Nebraska Rep calls the base (America First voters) Nazis, isn’t it time that people open their eyes to what this party has become and actually do something other than moan and groan on social media.

I tell you in earnest, these bastards are not in the least bit concerned at what they are doing to their base. They have the donor class to fill their war chests and they live with the belief that no matter how disgusted the voter may be, when all is said and done, incumbency is near impossible to defeat, and in the general the lever is always pulled for the R over the D.