Posted on 10/24/23
| News Source: The Hill
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) dropped out of the Speaker’s race on Tuesday, just hours after the conference nominated the Minnesota Republican for the top job, according to a source familiar.
Emmer withdrew his name from the running after a contingent of Republicans made clear they would not back him on the House floor, making it virtually impossible for him to secure enough votes to win the gavel.
It also came after former President Trump released a scathing statement calling Emmer a “RINO” and saying voting for him “would be a tragic mistake.”
Emmer won the GOP nomination over House GOP Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (La.) in a secret ballot 117-97, but in a secondary roll call vote 26 Republicans voted present or for another person, according to House GOP Conference Secretary Lisa McClain (R-Mich.).
If all members vote present and for a specific candidate, Emmer could only afford to lose four Republicans and still win the Speakership on the House floor.
Emmer is the third GOP Speaker nominee to fall short of the gavel. The conference voted to drop Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as their nominee last week following three failed attempts to win the gavel on the House floor. Before that, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) withdrew his name from the running amid staunch opposition from Jordan supporters.
News of Emmer dropping out from the race will catapult the House GOP conference back to square one — again — as they restart the search for a new Speaker following Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ouster from the post.
Tuesday marked exactly three weeks since eight Republicans and Democrats voted to boot McCarthy from the Speakership.