Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) dropped his speaker’s bid just hours after he won the GOP nomination, sending the House back to square one after three weeks of being without a leader.
Emmer announced he would withdraw himself from the race Tuesday afternoon after roughly 25 Republicans came out in opposition to his bid earlier in the day, making it clear the speaker designate would not be able to secure the 217 votes needed to secure the speaker’s gavel. His decision makes him the third speaker designate to drop out of the race, sending Republicans back to the drawing board as they scramble to appoint a new leader.
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Emmer won the nomination in a 117-97 vote on Tuesday against Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), giving him a slim victory over the Louisiana Republican. However, it became clear that Emmer had too many obstacles to overcome in order to clinch the speakership after a handful of lawmakers vowed never to support him — especially after former President Donald Trump came out in opposition to his nomination.
“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, referring to Emmer as a “Republican in Name Only.” “Voting for a globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!”
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) came out in staunch opposition to Emmer’s candidacy, arguing the majority leader was too “liberal” to be elected as the leader of the lower chamber.
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“I’ve supported every Republican nominee to be Speaker of the House so far, but I will not vote for Tom Emmer on the House floor,” he said in a statement. “The left-flank of our conference blocked Speaker-designee Jim Jordan then nominated the single most liberal member of leadership to continue business as usual in Washington. They are holding our conference hostage and pushing Republicans to betray our voters and abandon our promises to the American people. I won’t go along with it.”
It’s not yet clear when House Republicans will reconvene to consider another candidate, although it’s likely some members such as Johnson and Rep. Kevin Hern (R-TN) would throw their hats back in the ring for the speakership. Johnson came in second behind Emmer during the GOP vote on Tuesday.