Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) on Sunday cheered House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s (R-MN) bid for Speaker, saying it would be great to have a Minnesotan lead the House.

“It would be great to have a Minnesotan serve as Speaker of the House,” the Minnesota Democrat wrote. “If @GOPMajorityWhip Tom Emmer becomes the GOP nominee, I invite him to work with Democrats on a bipartisan path to end the nonsense and reform the House so it starts working for people. It’s time.”

Emmer is one of the nine House Republican Speaker candidates who hope to lead the House after House Republicans voted to remove House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) as the Republican Speaker nominee.

Before serving as House Majority Whip, Emmer was the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chair, which helped House Republicans take back the House majority.

Rep. Dean Phillips (R-MN) on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on September 16, 2020. (KEVIN DIETSCH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Speaker McCarthy has endorsed Emmer’s bid; however, at least 12 Republican members have pledged to oppose Emmer’s bid for Speaker.

“At least 12 Republicans are opposed to Tom Emmer under any circumstances,” one senior GOP source told Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) participates in the House Republicans’ press conference following their caucus meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“I think it’s more. This thing is blowing up,” another source told Boyle.

“Tom Emmer is an absolute never Trump politician,” a Republican strategist explained to Boyle. “He failed to secure the red wave. Worked for a Soros-funded group. Trashed President Trump to candidates and donors. He is Nancy Pelosi in a suit, but with less balls to do anything.”

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.