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Tom Emmer is determined to avoid the same fate as the GOP’s speaker picks before him. Yet two dozen Republicans are already standing in the way.
Fresh off Emmer's defeat of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) for the speakership nod, 26 Republicans have already indicated in another internal roll-call vote Tuesday that they will not support the majority whip for the speakership. That’s far more than the four members it takes to block the No. 3 Republican from the gavel, and Emmer's team is still gaming out how to move forward.
“There are some people that are pretty well dug-in and are not going to support the current designee as has been voted on today,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), describing the grim mood inside the room.
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) put it more bluntly, when asked if Emmer could get to 217: “I thought he could, but apparently he can’t.”
While the Minnesota Republican said he wants to go to the floor sometime Tuesday, he and his allies have made clear they want to land as much internal support as possible before taking the same public plunge that felled Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) last week. The strategy reflects a bleak reality within the exasperated GOP conference: Few members are relishing the idea of going to the floor just to have their nominee publicly rejected again.
Three weeks of a dragged-out speaker fight has exhausted patience within the already-raucous conference, and members are no longer hiding their frustrations.
“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,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.). Or, in other words, he said: "Let’s get our poop in a group, people."
At this point, it's questionable whether Emmer can ultimately get to 217, putting him at risk of becoming the third failed speaker nominee since Kevin McCarthy was ousted just three weeks ago. After the votes to determine who would support him on the floor, Emmer took a new approach by inviting his opposition to air their concerns about his voting record or other general grievances against him, according to multiple House members.
Republicans lined up at the microphones to vent about Emmer’s past clashes with Donald Trump, his policy on spending, his support for Ukraine aid and his votes to protect gay marriage and against Trump’s transgender military ban, according to one person in the room. Emmer worked to respond to each of the concerns in real time, though it's unclear if he changed any minds.
Like Jordan and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) before him, Emmer has internal rivalries as well as some outside factors, including his Trump problem, that may prevent him from taking the gavel. The ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus is expected to request a meeting with Emmer to privately vet him, after a bulk of the group initially threw their support behind Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), for instance, wouldn’t say after the final ballot on Tuesday if she’ll support Emmer on the floor.
And Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.)., another member of the Freedom Caucus, cautioned he isn’t “never Emmer” but isn’t ready to help crown him just yet.
“A lot of us don’t mind standing up. You can only lose four. ... You’ve got to have an in-depth conversation,” Norman said. “We are not going with a weak speaker.”
Emmer’s insistence on uniting the GOP conference before going to the floor represents a huge break from just last week, when Jordan forced three votes on the floor despite knowing he didn't have the votes. The Ohio Republican gradually lost more GOP support on each ballot before his colleagues eventually stripped him of the speaker nomination behind closed doors.
That strategy sparked deep frustration across the House GOP, with Republicans privately and publicly lambasting the Ohio Republican for playing hardball without an end-game strategy.
“The longer we are mired in this sort of internal debate, the more likely it is that the Senate jams us with an omnibus or the threat of a shutdown or a supplemental that doesn't reflect any conservative priorities,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), lamenting the legislative time crunch between now and Christmas, with a shutdown deadline on Nov. 17. “It’s going to be a sprint.”
Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) helped nominate Jordan but made clear he wasn’t eager to repeat the Ohio Republican's strategy.
“I would really like not to,” he said. “It just gets us into the minefield.”
If Emmer can’t get to 217, multiple House Republicans are already prepping back-up plans. Kelly has introduced a resolution to empower acting Speaker Patrick McHenry until Nov. 17. And while the idea got fierce pushback within the conference last week, Kelly said on Tuesday that if Emmer falls short it could add new life into the idea.
“Either we get a speaker or we extend Patrick’s responsibilities,” he said.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), meanwhile, said that he has started “socializing” a plan to change the rules and elect a speaker by a plurality — meaning a candidate would need to get the most votes on the floor but not a majority.
It would essentially dare holdout Republicans to vote for Emmer. Otherwise, they'd risk making Hakeem Jeffries the speaker.
“If we are back in the same situation, then these other options are on the table,” Crenshaw said. “If you vote against your nominee you are voting for a Democrat. Like you are literally voting for a Democrat.”
Katherine Tully-McManus, Daniella Diaz and Anthony Adragna contributed.
