As the third-in-line, Tom Emmer, Republican of Minnesota, tried early Tuesday night to be elected Speaker of the House since ousting Kevin McCarthy in a historic vote three weeks ago.
But just minutes after he was elected by a divided group of Republicans, whispers began in the halls of Washington that Emmer did not have enough support to be elected by the full House, and that too many of his party colleagues were going to vote against him, and would vote against him. He will not be able to obtain the necessary 217 votes.
Former President Donald Trump delivered the coup de grace, declaring from New York that Emmer was not a Trump supporter and that “it looks like he’s done. But we’ll see.”
‘A tragic mistake’
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that Emmer was completely disconnected from the party’s voters and that “it would be a tragic mistake to elect a globalist and a Reno,” referring to the latter as a “Republican in name only.” , one of Trump’s frequently used nicknames.
Among Republicans close to Trump on the far right, Emmer met with the greatest opposition, the same faction that voted for Kevin McCarthy.
Rep. Diaz-Balart of Florida says Emmer in particular’s inability to garner enough votes is a warning sign and “scary.”
– If Tom Emmer can’t handle it, it’s scary, because remember it’s a whip. Ballart told NBC News that he knows how to count votes, has all the contacts and a close relationship with all the members.
New meeting tonight
Nine people expressed interest in becoming the party’s nominee after first Majority Leader Steve Scalise and then Trump supporter Jim Jordan tried, but were not voted out. According to NBC, it took five rounds of voting on Tuesday to select Emmer as the nominee.
New negotiations are now pending regarding who will now take over the nomination. At midnight Swedish time, the party will meet to hold a new vote on a new candidate.
Without the Speaker, the work of the House of Representatives is halted because bills cannot be approved.
It is a big problem when there is some support for Israel and an aid package for Ukraine in the pipeline. On November 17, a new budget solution must be found, otherwise the US state apparatus is threatened with closure.
On October 3, former Speaker of the House, Republican Kevin McCarthy, was forced from office in a historic vote. The main reason was criticism of McCarthy’s cooperation with Democrats to reach a budget solution and increase the US debt ceiling.
Behind the impeachment process was a right-wing faction within Republicans, led by Republican Matt Gaetz from Florida. Gaetz is part of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, which in principle wants to see a small state apparatus and low taxes.
After the impeachment, the caucus first nominated Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana for speaker, but he withdrew when it became clear he could not muster enough support.
The next nominee was Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, co-founder of the Freedom Caucus and a close associate of former President Donald Trump. He also failed to collect the required votes.
Republicans were also unable to agree on a proposal that would give interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, whose sole job is to call a vote on a new president, expanded powers.
Republicans hold 221 of the 433 House seats (two of which are vacant), meaning that the next Speaker of the House must receive 217 votes, and thus can only “afford” four defections. Without the Speaker, the Council’s work stops and draft laws cannot be approved.
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