Republican Tom Emmer abruptly abandoned his bid for House speaker on Tuesday, dropping out of the race hours after winning the party’s nomination after it became clear he couldn’t muster enough support from his fellow Republicans.
House Republican Whip Emmer reversed his stance after Donald Trump opposed his nomination and House hardliners refused to give the party leader the votes he needed to give the party leader a gavel. That’s according to a Republican source familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
He is the third Republican to fall short, putting the party no closer to fixing the chaos it created since ousting Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
Emmer briskly left the building where he had met privately with Republicans and jumped into a waiting SUV. He did not answer chanted questions as they drove away from the Capitol.
Frustrated Republicans closed their doors and desperately searched for a way out of the mess they had created.
Three weeks after Republicans fell from power Kevin McCarthyThrowing the House into chaos, they appear no closer to ending the bitter infighting or choosing a new speaker who can reliably unite the Republican majority, lead the party and get the U.S. Congress functioning again.
“We’re in the same dead end,” said Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.
Minnesota’s Emmer, the third-ranking Republican on the Republican whip list, emerged as second in line behind the president in a private morning vote to emerge from a sea of lesser-known members of Congress aspiring to become speaker. A powerful position. .
But no sooner had Emmer won a majority of the votes of his colleagues than his nomination was blocked by the powerful critic he was trying to woo: Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential election who has long criticized the The party’s previous election campaign. The chief is disloyal.
While Emmer won a simple majority (117 votes) in a closed-door roll call, he lost two dozen Republicans, putting him well short of the votes needed for future House counts.
Trump, who played a major role in the speaker’s race, wrote on social media on Tuesday that he had “a lot of great friends who want to be Speaker of the House.” But he said Emmer was “not one of them” and handing him the gavel would be a “mistake.”
Others have joined in, in part a replay of a feud between Trump and Emmer that has been simmering since January, when allies of the former president sought to block Emmer’s promotion to Republican whip.
“He has no support in the room right now,” said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, who challenged Emmer earlier this year. “We’ll see where we go next.”
The House has been in chaos since a group of hard-line Republicans ousted McCarthy, creating a current governing crisis that has hampered the normal functioning of Congress. There seems to be no feasible solution.
Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana constitutional expert who came in a solid second place in the voting, went head-to-head with Emmer in the fifth round, receiving 97 votes. He eventually declared full support for his colleagues.
“What we have to do in this room is come together and get back to governing,” Johnson said.
Others were eliminated in multiple rounds of voting, including Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a top Trump ally, and Oklahoma McDonald’s franchise owner Rep. Kevin Hearn. Kevin Hern, a conservative leader who regularly sends hamburgers to colleagues to drum up support. Georgia Rep. Austin Scott, Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, Alabama Rep. Gary Palmer and Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Messer also dropped out of the election.
After rejecting top alternatives including Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Trump-backed Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, there are no longer any obvious options for the position.
With Republicans controlling the House 221-212 over Democrats, any Republican nominee can withstand pressure from a handful of critics to win the gavel.
“When we get to one, it’s going to be another close game,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong said. “I think whoever wins this game should be in the room and figure out where they are now and if they can get there.”
Republicans have been restless all month, unable to carry out their day-to-day business as they battle among themselves and face daunting challenges.
The federal government faces the following risks closure That would be weeks away if Congress fails to pass appropriations legislation by a Nov. 17 deadline to keep services and offices running.More directly, President Joe Biden asked Congress to $105 billion in aid — Helping Israel and Ukraine deal with war and fortifying the U.S. border with Mexico. Without action, federal aviation and agriculture programs face expiration.
Those running for speaker are mostly conservatives and election deniers who either voted against the certification of the 2020 presidential election results when Biden defeated Trump on the eve of the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, or joined the subsequent lawsuit challenging US presidential election results. result.
Some Democrats view Emmer, who voted to certify the 2020 election results, as a potential partner in running the House.
But Trump allies, including influential far-right firebrand Steve Bannon, have been critical of Emmer. Some pointed to his support for same-sex marriage initiatives and criticism of the former president. Some among the far-right groups who pressured lawmakers over the speaker’s vote were quick to attack Emmer.
“This is a very divisive issue,” said Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., who said he would never vote for Emmer because of his voting record on marriage.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a far-right leader who pushed for McCarthy’s ouster, said several contenders, including Hearn, Donald or Johnson, would make an “extraordinary” choice for speaker.
Still, Gaetz voted for Emmer, even though others involved in ousting McCarthy did not.
Many of Emmer’s opponents are resisting a leader who voted for McCarthy’s budget deal with Biden earlier this year that set federal spending levels that far-right Republicans disagree with and now want to undo. They are seeking deep cuts to federal programs and services ahead of next month’s funding deadline.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she wants to ensure candidates will launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden and other top Cabinet officials.
During the unrest, the House of Representatives is now led by a nominal speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenryRegistered nurse, chair of the financial services committee wearing a bow tie. His main job is to elect a more permanent Speaker.
Some Republicans and Democrats want to simply More power to McHenry Continue to handle day-to-day governance matters. But McHenry, who was the first to establish it as an emergency measure after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, declined to support the proposals.
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