Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), after having been nominated by House Republicans as the nominee for Speaker, has dropped out of the race. The development comes only hours after he was first nominated on Tuesday. Now, House Republicans are going back to the drawing board to come up with a new candidate.
Emmer made the decision as it became apparent that Emmer would not be able to win enough support among House Republicans to become Speaker.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has dropped out of the race for speaker hours after being named House Republicans’ nominee, three sources tell Fox News Digital.
Emmer won a majority of the GOP Conference on Tuesday morning after five rounds of voting, against six other potential candidates.
But it quickly became clear that he did not have enough support to outright win a House-wide vote. With Republicans’ razor-thin majority, a GOP speaker-designate can only lose four members of their own party to win the gavel without Democratic support.
Shortly after his nomination was announced, at least 20 Republicans indicated that they would not support his bid for the gavel.
🚨 BREAKING: Here we go again! Listed are 26 House Republicans that have announced they refuse to vote for Tom Emmer to be House Speaker!
— Wayne DuPree (@WayneDupreeShow) October 24, 2023
Rick Allen
Jim Banks
Andy Biggs
Josh Brecheen
Michael Cloud
Andrew Clyde
Doug Collins
Eli Crane
Warren Davidson
Bob Good
Paul Gosar… pic.twitter.com/MYlCTEUS9D
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wrote a post on X, formerly Twitter, highlighting Emmer’s lack of support among her Republican colleagues.
This morning I voted for Rep Donalds for Speaker. Followed by Rep Johnson. Rep Emmer does not have votes to be speaker and I will be unable to support him on the floor. So, I’m going to ask Rep. Mark Green to throw his hat in the ring. We need to get a speaker!
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) October 24, 2023
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) published a post shedding light on why Emmer might not have been the winning choice, bringing up his less-than-conservative voting record.
Today I voted against Tom Emmer on all rounds of voting including the spoken roll call vote because he has a voting record I can’t support.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 24, 2023
He voted for Democrat gay marriage bill, voted with Democrats to overturn President Trump’s transgender military ban, voted for every penny…
Earlier in the day, former President Donald Trump, after having been lukewarm on his support for Emmer, wrote a tirade on Truth Social railing against the lawmaker.
The former president took to Truth Social today to make his feelings about Emmer clear, writing: "He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA-MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump questioned whether Emmer could be counted on to support Trump in the future, concluding, "The Republican Party cannot take that chance because that's not where the America First Voters are. Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake."
It appears that Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Mike Johnson (R-LA) are jumping back into the Speaker’s race now that Emmer is no longer the nominee. This is the latest in a series of mishaps in choosing a new leader in a rudderless House. Previously, Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) had been nominated but then dropped.
The saga over the leadership position continues as concerns over pressing issues grow stronger. The November 17 deadline for handling issues like government funding and aid to Israel and Ukraine is creeping closer.
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