House Republicans met on Tuesday morning and voted by secret-ballot to nominate Representative Tom Emmer (R., Minn.) for the House speakership ahead of Tuesday’s vote on the chamber floor.
Emmer, who’s been considered the frontrunner since Jim Jordan was ousted last week, secured 117 votes, while Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana secured 97 votes. Five members voted for an “other” candidate and one member voted present.
In secret-ballot voting, the candidate with the lowest vote total in each round is removed until just two nominees remain. Representative Byron Donalds (R., Fla.) voluntarily dropped out on the fourth-ballot.
Frustration has been simmering within the party as the caucus has struggled to identify a successor following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) in early October. “Everybody’s frustrated. I think that’s the general consensus around the country — us included, Republican members of the House,” Representative Dan Newhouse (R., Wash.) told reporters ahead of the vote.
Some in the party have pushed for a higher threshold of internal support before going to the House floor for a vote. “When I’ve proposed that and discussed it, clearly the conference doesn’t want to go that way,” Bill Huizenga (R., Mich.) told NR, underscoring the need for the nominee to have the 217 votes necessary to secure the speakership.
McCarthy continued to harbor a grudge demanding “consequences” be meted out against the eight members of the House Freedom Caucus, led by Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), who sent House Republicans into disarray. “There has to be consequences since they broke the House rules,” McCarthy told reporters before the vote. “[A]t the end of the day, I think when all the truth comes out on Gaetz, it will be hard for these seven to ever stand with him or anybody else again.”
Across the aisle, Representative Dean Phillips (D., Minn.) said that legislative paralysis of the speakership battle represented “a national and global security issue.” “I would sit-out the Speaker vote if Tom Emmer will fund our government at negotiated levels, bring Ukraine and Israel aid bills to the floor, and commit to rules changes to make Congress work for the people,” the Democratic representative wrote on X early Tuesday.
Last Wednesday, Representative Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) failed to secure the speaker’s gavel in the second time as support for the House Judiciary chairman shrank from the first ballot.
Throughout the proceedings, the entire Democratic caucus has continued to fall in line behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.). Jordan’s team had lost considerable ground through three subsequent speaker votes. Last Wednesday, Representative Pete Stauber (R., Minn.) switched his allegiances and voted for Representative Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.). Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R., Calif.) also abandoned Jordan, shifting her support behind Representative Kay Granger (R., Tex.).
“If you’re a Republican, it ought to be a pretty easy decision,” Representative Tom Cole (R., Okla.), the Rules Committee chairman, said during his speech nominating Jordan.
The pitch ultimately failed, and by last Friday, Jordan was dropped via secret-ballot. Speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.) told reporters afterward that House Republicans would hold a candidate forum and plan to bring a nominee to the floor for a vote on Tuesday.
Several candidates emerged in the wake of Jordan’s failed bid, notably: Donalds and Hern. Others began making calls about their plans to enter the race or openly mulling bids, including House Majority whip Emmer, Homeland Security chairman Mark Green, and House GOP Conference vice chair Johnson.
“We’ve got to make a lot of phone calls this weekend and see what see what the issues are,” Hern told National Review moments after the vote to remove Jordan from consideration. “People know me. I’m never gonna lie to you. I’m never gonna lie for you. I think simpler is better,” Scott, who launched a failed bid against Jordan last week, told National Review of his newly announced bid. “We just got to keep pushing forward until we get through the next election.”