Republican Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer dropped out of the Speaker’s race Tuesday just several hours after receiving the nomination.
Emmer, the House Majority Whip, secured the nomination to be Speaker of the House over seven other contenders on a secret ballot Tuesday morning. He immediately received opposition from several conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, who labeled him a “RINO [Republican-In-Name-Only]” in a Truth Social post.
Tom Emmer dropped his bid for House speaker hours after he was nominated. A backlash from the right, including Donald Trump, sank his candidacy. https://t.co/AhAaJG2XNK via @nytimes
— Nino Brodin (@Orgetorix) October 24, 2023
Before the first round of votes, seven House Republicans ran for the nomination. The six other candidates were Reps. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Austin Scott of Georgia, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas. Bergman, Scott and Hern dropped out of the race before Emmer’s nomination on the fifth ballot.
Trump accused Emmer of being a “globalist” who is “totally out-of-touch” with Republican voters in his Truth Social post.
“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!,” Trump wrote. “He fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me—He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters. 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 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!” the former president continued.
The speaker’s chair has been vacant since Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate and forced a vote on ousting then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Every House Democrat and eight Republicans voted to oust McCarthy in the Oct. 3 floor vote.
Republican Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio were unable to receive enough support during their nominations. (RELATED: ‘Not The Guy The Country Needs’: Conservatives Fume Over House GOP’s Speaker Nominee)
Scalise, the first to be nominated, announced his exit from the race in an Oct. 12 statement over the division in his own party. Jordan failed to secure the majority threshold on three ballots due to approximately two dozen Republicans voting against him, leading congressional members to vote him out of the race on a secret ballot Friday.