Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) won the latest House Republican Speaker nomination Tuesday on the fifth ballot by a 117-97 vote over Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), a sign of the steep challenge he faces to get the necessary 217 votes on the House floor.
His 117 votes are fewer than Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) received when winning his ballot.
The moderate Emmer, who serves as the majority whip, has received the conditional support of at least one Democrat.
Emmer may rely on Democrats to win the gavel. While it is unlikely Democrats will vote for him, Capitol Hill is bustling with rumors that Democrats may vote “present” or avoid the vote altogether, in numbers sufficient to lower Emmer’s threshold for victory from 217.
Former President Donald Trump, who had recently endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), took to Truth Social Tuesday before voting to express his displeasure with Emmer.
Trump shared a message saying, “President Trump doesn’t support Tom Emmer, and neither should you!!!”
Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) Tuesday morning stated his opposition to Emmer, saying Emmer’s vote in support of gay marriage was disqualifying.
Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) noted that the six members who voted “present” or for other members could be enough to sink Emmer on the floor. “Let’s get our poop in a group people,” he said. “I don’t want us to go out there and in front of the entire world puke on our shoes again. That’s what we’ve been doing.”
The conference has not announced when it will take Emmer’s nomination to the House floor.
This is a developing story.
Follow Bradley Jaye on Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.