Posted on 10/24/23
| News Source: The Hill
House Republicans nominated House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) for Speaker on Tuesday, making him the third GOP lawmaker who will attempt to get 217 votes to secure the gavel in the past three weeks.
The conference selected Emmer — the No. 3 House Republican — for the position in a secret ballot during an internal election that lasted three hours, choosing him over six other candidates vying for the job. Two Republicans withdrew their names from the race before voting began.
Emmer, 62, will now take his nomination to the House floor, where he will have to muster enough votes to win the gavel — a heavy lift that the previous two GOP Speaker nominees failed to achieve. If all lawmakers are present and vote for a specific candidate, Emmer will need at least 217 votes.
It may also be a hard climb for Emmer.
In conference, he got 117 votes on the final ballot, while House Republican Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson (R-La.) got 97.
The conference is taking a roll call vote to see how much support the Minnesota Republican may have as the nominee.
Emmer may also have to contend having a less conservative voting record than some members would like.
He has voted in favor of codifying same-sex marriage; in favor of spending bills and a debt limit deal that outraged hard-liners; and opposed votes on Jan. 6, 2021, objecting to 2020 election results.
Rep. Rich Allen (R-Ga.) said he will not back Emmer for Speaker because of his vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which was passed by Congress last year and gives federal protections to same-sex marriages.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that the conservative House Freedom Caucus is not committing to backing Emmer on the floor.
“We’ll see. All of them have different characters, different qualities, and we’ll see how it goes,” he told reporters when asked if he would back Emmer.
“We want to sit down with whoever gets it as a Freedom Caucus and understand what their roles — what their roles will be, what they want to push and things like that,” he added.
Emmer’s nomination is the latest development in the long-winded Speaker saga, which has fractured the GOP conference and left the House at a standstill. The chamber is unable to conduct legislative business on the floor without installing a permanent Speaker or empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), a reality that has prevented lawmakers from advancing key priorities like government funding and aid for Israel and Ukraine.