WASHINGTON (AP/KFGO) — Republicans have picked Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer as their nominee for House speaker after five private ballots Tuesday morning. He will now need to win a majority in a floor vote, which is planned for later this week.
The 62-year-old Emmer is in his 5th term in the House, representing Minnesota’s 6th congressional district, which includes St. Cloud and Monticello, as well as outer northern and western Twin Cities suburbs such as Blaine, Chaska, St. Michael-Albertville, and Chanhassen. He previously served in the Minnesota State House from 2004-2008.
Emmer, a lawyer, is known as a gruff hockey coach who reached out to Donald Trump for backing. The current GOP Whip, he was the senior-most lawmaker in the most recent group of candidates vying for speaker. Unlike the previous speaker Kevin McCarthy and the Republicans’ other speaker candidates Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, Emmer voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results, which has led some Democrats to eye him as a potential partner in governing the House.
It’s three weeks since Republicans ousted McCarthy. The House speaker will need to accomplish the seemingly impossible job of uniting the GOP majority. Emmer jumped ahead as the top vote-getter on early round ballots and was battling constitutional law expert Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana on a fifth ballot.
The candidate list was long and jumbled with no obvious choice for the job. Rep. Byron Donalds, a top Trump ally, dropped out after four ballots. McDonald’s franchise owner Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, a conservative leader, plied his colleagues with hamburgers seeking their support but also dropped out Tuesday. Also withdrawing from the race were Reps. Austin Scott of Georgia, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Pete Sessions of Texas, Gary Palmer of Alabama and Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania.
The House has been in turmoil, without a speaker since the start of the month after a contingent of hardline Republicans ousted McCarthy, creating what’s now a governing crisis that’s preventing the normal operations of Congress.
“We’re going to have to figure out how to get our act together — I mean, big boys and big girls have got to quit making excuses and we just got to get it done,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., a conservative caucus leader.
The federal government risks a shutdown in a matter of weeks if Congress fails to pass funding legislation by a Nov. 17 deadline to keep services and offices running. More immediately, President Joe Biden has asked Congress to provide $105 billion in aid — to help Israel and Ukraine amid their wars and to shore up the U.S. border with Mexico. Federal aviation and farming programs face expiration without action.
Trump allies and other hardliners have been critical of Emmer over his support of a same-sex marriage initiative and perceived criticisms of the former president. Among the far-right groups pressuring lawmakers over the speaker’s vote, some are now attacking Emmer.
Trump downplayed, even derided, Emmer, with whom he has had a rocky relationship, while presenting himself Monday as a kingmaker who talks to “a lot of congressmen” seeking his stamp of approval.
Trump, brushing back suggestions that he take the gavel himself, suggested Monday that no one is capable of uniting the House Republicans.
“There’s only one person who can do it all the way: Jesus Christ,” he declared in New Hampshire.
