WASHINGTON — It’s enough to give you whiplash.
House Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) dropped out of the race to be the next House speaker on Tuesday, just four hours after being formally nominated, in the face of strong opposition from dozens of people who resist and the criticism of former President Donald Trump.
Emmer, 62, edged out Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) on the fifth vote of a closed-door conference around 12 p.m., with 117 members pledging their support for the House’s No. 2 Republican.
By 4:30 p.m., Emmer had walked away, leaving more than 200 of his colleagues discussing a dwindling number of alternatives.
The Republican group was due to hold its second candidate forum later Tuesday, lawmakers told The Post, and a fourth nomination vote would follow.
Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) dropped out of the race to be the next speaker of his House conference just four hours after being nominated after facing strong opposition from dozens of people who They resisted. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Johnson and Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) re-entered the race, while Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who had tried for speaker twice before, dropped out of the race.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) also put his name up for consideration, his spokesman confirmed, as did Byron Donalds of Florida, Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee and Roger Williams of Texas.
House Republicans have spent three weeks without a leader since Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted Oct. 3 by eight of his own members, plunging the caucus into chaos.
House Republicans have gone 21 days without a leader since Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted Oct. 3 by eight of his own members, plunging the caucus into chaos.
Johnson won the support of just 97 members after four earlier rounds of voting eliminated Hern, Scott, Donalds, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas.
Representative Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) and Representative Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) walked out before voting began at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
But 26 “Never Emmer” holdouts showed up in a later roll-call vote to oppose the whip in a vote to gauge the level of support in the House of Representatives.
Johnson won the support of just 97 members, following earlier rounds of voting in which five other GOP presidential candidates dropped out, including Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida (above left).Getty Images
Many questioned whether Emmer should be his party’s standard-bearer, citing his voting record and lack of public support for former President Donald Trump.
“I would vote for a conservative,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), one of the holdouts, told reporters as he left the GOP meeting. “Tom Emmer is not a conservative.”
In a later statement, Banks accused the “left flank of our conference” of blocking Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) from running for president last week and selecting “the most liberal member of leadership to continue the business as usual in Washington.”
Johnson and Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), pictured above right, are re-entering the contest, sources told The Post, while Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who had tried to be president on two previous occasions. ballots, he is out of the race.Getty Images
“They are holding our conference hostage and pressuring Republicans to betray our voters and abandon our promises to the American people,” Banks said. “I won’t accept it.”
Jordan won the support of the majority of the Republican conference before falling short in three consecutive rounds of House voting last week, with at least 20 GOP members voting against the Judiciary Committee chairman on each vote.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) also received a nomination vote for House speaker on Oct. 11, but never came up for a floor vote.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) blamed the “left flank of our conference” for blocking Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), pictured above, from running for president last week.AP
Both needed at least 217 votes to win the gavel, giving each a narrow margin of error of four votes.
Emmer is the third member of the House Republican leadership to be denied or stripped of the speaker’s gavel, as backlash to his effort began shortly after the closed-door nominating session concluded.
Trump entered the fray after the conference vote to denounce Emmer as a “globalist RINO” and claim that electing him as president “would be a tragic mistake!”
“I have many wonderful friends who want to be Speaker of the House and some are truly great warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I don’t know well, he’s not one of them,” the 77-year-old posted on Truth Social.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) also received a nomination vote for House speaker, but never showed up for a floor vote.Getty Images
“He never respected the power of Trump’s endorsement, nor the breadth and reach of MAGA: MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He fought with me the entire time and, in fact, spent more time defending Ilhan Omar than me. “He is totally out of touch with Republican voters,” the former president added.
“I think he’s learned his lesson now, because he’s saying he’s totally pro-Trump, but who can be sure? Has it changed just because that’s what it takes to win?
“The Republican Party can’t take that risk, because that’s not where America’s Early Voters are. Voting for a globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!
Another Republican House member told The Post that holdouts raised concerns at his conference about Emmer’s votes to certify the 2020 presidential election results, federally codify same-sex marriage and finance military aid to Ukraine.
Behind the scenes, Trump surrogates worked the phones to defeat Emmer, a source told The Post, while others like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called for a new presidential candidate.
Trump entered the House speaker race after the conference voted to denounce Emmer as a “globalist RINO” and say that electing him as president “would be a tragic mistake!” Steven Hirsch
“Today I voted against Tom Emmer in every round of voting, including roll call, because he has a voting record that I cannot support,” Greene said. published in X.
“We need a Republican president who reflects the values of Republican voters and who can lead our conference.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) declared that Emmer lacked the “votes to be president” and called on Green to “throw his hat in the ring” instead.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) even reiterated that he was prepared to nominate Trump himself off the ground.
“Today I voted against Tom Emmer in every round of voting, including roll call voting, because he has a voting record that I cannot support,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted on X.REUTERS.
Two other sources said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the campaign to unseat McCarthy, had tried to insulate Emmer from the former president’s criticism but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Tensions have cooled somewhat at the conference since McCarthy’s ouster, but some said bad blood between leadership and rank-and-file members may lead to “outside” candidates stepping in to fill the seat this week.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said the conference needed to “move forward” if Emmer couldn’t solidify support, and called for “fresh eyes” on the situation.
“It’s amazing to me that we’re in a position where there are some people who think that a speaker candidate has to agree with them on every major issue and almost every minor issue of the day,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD). aggregate.
“It’s going to be difficult to get anyone elected.”
Meanwhile, Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has chaired the House Republican conference, and calls from moderates grow louder with each failed attempt by the presidency to temporarily empower him to pass legislation before the government’s funding deadline on November 17.
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