POLITICS
House GOP Nominates Tom Emmer For Speaker After Multiple Secret Ballots
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House Republicans nominated Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota as their latest nominee for speaker after multiple rounds of secret-ballot voting on Tuesday.
The House has been without a speaker since the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this month.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, withdrew from consideration after failing to secure a majority in the full House after three rounds of voting last week. Before that, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana withdrew after failing to secure a majority.
Nine new candidates emerged and took questions in a candidates forum on Monday, and the list was whittled down through multiple rounds of voting on Tuesday.
The candidates included Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan; Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma; Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida; Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia; Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas; Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana; Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama; and Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania.
Emmer, the House majority whip, announced his candidacy on Saturday, and had the support of McCarthy. On Tuesday, Emmer consistently won a majority of votes from fellow Republicans, but may still be short of the 217 Republican votes required to win the speakership in the full House.
Without an elected speaker, the House cannot pass any legislation, including international aid, as war in Israel continues into its third week. Biden on Friday asked Congress for an unprecedented aid package including more than $14 billion in military aid for Israel and more than $61 billion for Ukraine.
McCarthy was ousted after struggling to unite House Republicans on a budget deal to avert a government shutdown. The more conservative flank led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) pushed for deep domestic spending cuts and objected to sending more aid to Ukraine, which continues to fight off a Russian invasion that began last year.
Gaetz filed a motion to vacate the chair, forcing a historic vote on whether to keep McCarthy, which he lost 216–210. He was the first House speaker in U.S. history to be removed by a floor vote.
The continuing resolution that was passed to keep the government open temporarily will expire on Nov. 17, threatening a shutdown if a budget deal is not passed in time.
Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina remains interim speaker, with limited powers, until a speaker is elected.
TMX contributed to this article.
