Why did Tom Emmer withdraw his candidacy for House Speaker? What did Trump say?
And another Republican would-be Speaker of the House bites the dust after former President Trump issued a scathing statement about the Speaker-designate.
It’s back to the drawing board for House Republicans who have been trying to choose the next Speaker of the House for three weeks since ousting Kevin McCarthy. On Tuesday, the GOP conference met to vote on a nominee, eventually choosing Tom Emmer of Minnesota out of the eight candidates.
The GOP Majority Whip won the internal party nominating contest by a vote of 117 to 97, beating Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana. However, just hours later Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, dropped his bid for Speaker after backlash from the hard-right wing of the party and a scathing statement from former President Trump.
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Why did Tom Emmer withdraw candidacy for House Speaker?
Two dozen House Republican members, the majority from the House Freedom Caucus, the most conservate and farthest to the right of the GOP, indicated that they would not vote for Emmer in the Speakership vote on the floor of the House. He would have needed 217 votes to win the gavel.
Republicans control the lower chamber of Congress with a narrow majority of 221 to the Democrats’ 212 seats. That means that any GOP candidate to be Speaker can only lose four votes.
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What did Trump say about Tom Emmer?
Trump put the nail in the Speaker-designate’s coffin when he issued a blistering statement calling him a “Globalist RINO” and voting for him would be a “tragic mistake.” Posting on Truth Social while attending the New York financial fraud trial against him the de facto leader of the Republican party wrote: “I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them.”
“He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA-MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending lIhan Omar, than he did me-He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters,” Trump continued.
“I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win?” the former president wrote. “The Republican Party cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are.”
“Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!” concluded Trump.