Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is the third consecutive GOP speaker-designate to withdraw from the race under fierce opposition from a minority of his fellow Republicans. The House has been largely paralyzed for three weeks without a speaker.
Mr. Emmer, 62, won an intra-conference nominating contest 117-97 on Oct. 24. But a confirming vote taken immediately afterward revealed that around 25 Republicans were unwilling to support Mr. Emmer’s candidacy, casting severe doubt on his ability to win election on the House floor.
His fate may have been sealed when former President Donald Trump later came out against his bid, posting on social media that “Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!”
The would-be speaker spent several hours attempting to win the support of holdouts, then announced he would not continue the race at a second conference meeting later that afternoon.
“It may be that Republicans in the House have been conditioned to just say no unless they get everything they want,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) said before the conference. “That way lies madness.”
Last week, the conference dropped the previous speaker designate Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) after he failed to gain a majority on a third ballot cast on the House floor. Before that speaker-designate Steve Scalise (R-La.) dropped out of the race on Oct. 12 without proceeding to a floor vote, realizing that a number of Republicans would not support his bid.
Morning Vote
The morning started with the promise of unity as a number of Republican members said they hoped the conference could unite behind one of the seven candidates in the nominating contest.
Nine candidates announced their speakership bids following the withdrawal of Mr. Jordan on Oct. 20. Seven remained in the race at the start of the nominating conference.
They were Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the most senior of the candidates, and Reps. Mike Johnson (R-La.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), and Pete Sessions (R-Texas).
Reps. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) and Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) withdrew their candidacies before the nominating vote.
Prior to voting, each candidate’s name was placed in nomination by a member of their choice. In conference votes, it is typical to have three nominating speeches, but that number was limited to one due to the volume of candidates.
At the end of each round of voting, the candidate with the lowest vote total was eliminated from the race. A simple majority was needed to elect. Initial votes were taken by secret ballot.
Mr. Emmer led after the first ballot with 78 votes. Mr. Johnson placed second with 34 votes. Mr. Donalds was third with 29 followed by Mr. Hern with 27. Mr. Sessions was eliminated.
On the second ballot, Mr. Emmer received 90 votes, Mr. Johnson received 37, Mr. Donalds garnered 33, and Mr Hern 31. Mr. Bergman was eliminated.
Mr. Emmer rose to 100 votes on the third ballot. Messrs. Johnson, Donalds, and Hern, the more conservative candidates, received 43, 32, and 26 votes respectively. Mr. Scott was eliminated.
On the fourth ballot, Mr. Emmer rose to 107 votes and Mr. Johnson to 56. Messrs. Donalds and Hern received 25 votes each. Mr. Hern was eliminated and Mr. Donalds withdrew from the race. Four members voted for other candidates, and two voted “present.”
Mr. Emmer and Mr. Johnson proceeded to a fifth ballot where Mr. Emmer won the nomination. That was seven fewer votes than Mr. Jordan had received upon his nomination 11 days prior.
The speaker designate immediately requested a confirming vote by roll call, which would clarify whether he was likely to reach 217 Republican votes in the House election. No official tally of the vote has been released but lawmakers indicated around 26 holdouts said they would not switch their votes to Mr. Emmer. Given the narrow Republican majority in the House, the candidate could afford to lose only four Republican votes.
Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.) compared the situation to Groundhog Day, a reference to a comedy film in which the protagonist is doomed to live the same day over and over again. “I’ve never been in politics before,” Mr. Williams said. “I came here because I love this country, and, frankly, as a patriot, it’s really disheartening.”
Resistance to Mr. Emmer seemed to be centered on two voting choices that critics see as an indication that he is not conservative enough to lead the Republican conference.
Mr. Emmer voted to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, and he voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified federal protections for same-sex couples.
“We have a difference of opinion … on marriage,” Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.) said after the first ballot, adding that his constituents opposed Mr. Emmer and that he would not vote for him.
“Emmer is not a conservative,” said Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) who had run unsuccessfully against Mr. Emmer for the position of majority whip, adding that he was “not a good leader.”
30-Day Agenda
When the House resumes business after a full three weeks of inactivity, a new speaker will have to move quickly on a range of legislative issues.
The first and simplest is likely to be the passage of a resolution in support of Israel’s right to self-defense, a symbolic measure, which has gained 425 co-sponsors.
Related to that, the House will consider a request from President Joe Biden for some $105 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, Israel, allies in the Indo-Pacific, and border security. While Republicans are eager to support Israel and strengthen border security, many are leery of Ukraine aid and believe those requests should be considered individually rather than as a bundle.
The appropriations process must be resolved by Nov. 17. The speakership crisis was provoked when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) passed a 45-day continuing spending resolution (CR) on Sept. 30, narrowly averting a government shutdown.
Given the three-week delay in concluding the appropriations process, some members have said they believe a second CR is all but inevitable. Others have demanded that the House instead pass the remaining eight appropriations bills and reconcile them with the Senate before the current CR expires.
The House is also expected to consider imposing additional sanctions on Iranian oil sales in an attempt to reduce their ability to fund terrorist activities.
Unfinished Business
Some rancor remains in the Republican conference over the events of the preceding three weeks, which include the ouster of the previous speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
Mr. McCarthy described the preceding three weeks as “a total embarrassment” that had demoralized Republican members.
“We already have Debbie Lesko [resigning] during this process. There are a number of others who have talked to me. I think they’re frustrated by the process. I hope they stay,” Mr. McCarthy said.
As for the eight Republicans who voted to remove the previous speaker, “There have to be consequences,” Mr. McCarthy said, noting that they violated a Republican conference rule requiring the support of 50 percent of GOP members to introduce a motion to vacate the chair.
House rules allow such a motion to be introduced by one member.
Jackson Richman, Joseph Lord, Ryusuke Abe, and NTD’s Melina Wisecup contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
