That happened quickly: just a few hours after the Republicans in the US House of Representatives chose a new candidate for the presidency of the parliamentary chamber, they are back to square one. Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer dropped out of the House Speaker race because he saw no chance of winning the real vote in the House. Several US media outlets report this unanimously, citing insiders. Former US President Donald Trump, among others, took a position against Emmer.
After Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan were eliminated, Emmer prevailed in a vote within the group. The 62-year-old has so far been the so-called majority whip among the Republicans: This means that he helps the party leadership in the House of Representatives to get majorities in the group for proposed laws.
Emmer secured the nomination after five rounds of secret voting, reports New York Times. He narrowly defeated Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a right-wing favorite, 117 votes to 97, the report said. However, the narrow margin of Emmer’s victory suggested early on that House Republicans remain deeply divided. It was therefore questionable from the outset whether he could muster a majority in the plenary session to win the election.
For Trump he is a RINO
Emmer saw this slim chance dwindle further when Donald Trump, among others, spoke up and insulted him as a RINO – Republican in name only. He accused him of having no connection to Republican voters.
In order to be elected to the third most important office in the state after president and vice president, an absolute majority is required among the members of the House of Representatives present. This would probably require 217 votes in the parliamentary chamber. Since the Republicans only have a narrow majority there with 221 seats, a candidate can only afford a few dissidents within his own ranks.
The House of Representatives has been leaderless since Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker three weeks ago. Jim Jordan of Ohio had previously given up his bid for the post after he was unable to secure a majority after the third round of voting. Jordan’s supporters had previously rudely booted Steve Scalise.