by WorldTribune Staff, October 24, 2023
Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota withdrew from consideration for Speaker of the House on Tuesday just hours after being named the GOP’s nominee and soon after former President Donald Trump said he would not back Emmer’s bid for the gavel.
Emmer, the House Majority Whip, won a majority of the GOP Conference on Tuesday morning after five rounds of voting against six other potential candidates.
As Emmer was securing the majority of votes behind closed doors, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner by a wide margin, slammed his nomination and urged Republicans not to vote for the “globalist RINO” on the House floor.
Trump posted to Truth Social:
“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. He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA — MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me — He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters. I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win? The Republican Party cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are. Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!”
“Democrats wouldn’t mind seeing Emmer lead the chamber given he voted to certify the 2020 election,” Democrats said privately according to a report by Punchbowl.news.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted: “Today I voted against Tom Emmer on all rounds of voting including the spoken roll call vote because he has a voting record I can’t support. He voted for Democrat gay marriage bill, voted with Democrats to overturn President Trump’s transgender military ban, voted for every penny of Ukraine funding, at one time supported the Soros national popular vote scheme, and voted to certify Biden’s 2020 election. We need a Republican Speaker that reflects the values of Republican voters that can lead our conference.”
By late Tuesday afternoon, Emmer reportedly saw the writing on the wall: He did not have enough support to outright win a House-wide vote.
At least 25 Republicans said they would not support Emmer in a House floor vote.
Emmer secured a majority in the fifth vote of the GOP conference on Tuesday, appearing to become the nominee.
But he would only have been able to afford four defections from fellow Republicans when the vote eventually went to the House floor.
This is the third time Republicans have chosen a speaker nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
Since then they have tried to elect both Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor.
This is the second longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.
Please Support Real Journalism
Emmer drops out of speaker race after Trump slam added by Editor Two on
View all posts by Editor Two →