Posted on 10/24/2023 9:24:36 AM PDT by 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.
Dear God, for how much longer will you continue to curse this once-great land???
Ballotpedia says he voted No on the Infrastructure plan and No on Ukraine Supplemental Spending.
But he’s a long time politician and therefore part of the Swamp.
There may be a few in the Republican caucus that would be worse than Emmer, but you would have to look long and hard to locate them.
This is pathetic.
That’s part of the point of the exercise:
PUNISH the Representatives who’re listening to the folks back home by foisting upon the Nation a Swamp Creature WORSE than McCarthy so the RINO wing can all stand up and jeer about how Gaetz should’ve left well enough alone.
This is The Pattern in the swamp:
MAKE EVERY GOOD DEED COSTLY in a bid to prevent good deeds.
“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.”
Some House Republicans may vote No, but Emmer will get just enough House Democrats to vote him in.
If Emmer goes down, and nothing would make me happier, I think that this will open the door for someone NOT from the House Republican caucus and not a currently seated member. Think someone like Lee Zelden.
“The Republican vote would be split and the Democrats would win the White House for the next 20 years.”
That’s only true if you assume a new party would not also draw votes from Democrats, and also assume that the Republican party would remain at all viable if the majority of their voters left.
“Sadly enough, he may be just the person we need to be Speaker.”
BS he is a rino cuck and rat collaborator. The Ukraine money laundering op will get worse. The rats get everything they want going forward. All because of the 20 traitors who voted against Jordan. It’s their fault not Gaetz’s.
Too late. The die is cast. The GOPe wants to get rid of MAGA. There will be consequences.
“The dems will vote for him.”
And if they don’t. What will you say.
But is Minnesota potentially in play for Trump next year?
“This is The Pattern in the swamp: MAKE EVERY GOOD DEED COSTLY in a bid to prevent good deeds.”
A very good point.
It’s not incompetence.
It’s an internal war for the swamp party..
And the swamp is the majority..
It’s amazing that Gaetz and his buddies thought his little stunt was going to work out in our favor.
“The Republican party hopelessly corrupt and refuses to represent its base.”
True.
This will be the Republican leadership in 2024:
RNC Chair: Ronna Romney McDaniel
Senate Republican Leader: Mitch McConnell
Speaker of the House: Tom Emmer
Don’t cash your uni-party check yet...people not buying what you are selling...why this guy and not Jordan? you do know that GOP voters are suppose to represent their constituents...don’t worry what happened to the impeachment GOP congressmen is going to happen to those who did not vote for Jordan...we know what game is being played here.
“The Minnesota Republican” was a red flag as far as I see it.
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