Tom Emmer Gets McCarthy’s Backing To Be Next Speaker

The race for the Speaker of the House got more complicated after Jim Jordan stepped down as the party’s nominee due to a lack of votes.

Since Jordan dropped out of the race, nine GOP members of the House have jumped into the race.

Today at noon was the deadline for announced candidates for Speaker.

Official Announced Candidates to the House Republican Conference include:

Jack Bergman (MI)
Byron Donalds (FL)
Tom Emmer (MN)
Kevin Hern (OK)
Mike Johnson (LA)
Dan Meuser (PA)
Gary Palmer (AL)
Austin Scott…

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 22, 2023

One of the current favorites to become the next Speaker is Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who announced his candidacy on Friday.

The American people elected us to deliver on a conservative agenda that secures our border, stops reckless spending, and holds Joe Biden accountable.

We cannot afford to fail them.

I'm running for Speaker of the House to bring our conference together and get back to work. pic.twitter.com/kVFmlQ70PS

— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) October 21, 2023

Emmer has already grabbed a major endorsement from ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted over two weeks ago by eight Republicans who voted with the Democrats.

From Fox News:

It’s unclear whether Emmer will succeed where Jordan and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., failed — convincing the various factions within the GOP to unite around his leadership.

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“He is the right person for the job. He can unite the conference,” McCarthy said. “He understands the dynamics of the conference. He also understands what it takes to win and keep a majority.”

“Our Conference remains at a crossroads, and the deck is stacked against us. We have no choice but to fight like hell to hold on to our House majority and deliver on our conservative agenda,” Emmer told Republican members of Congress in a letter Saturday about his bid for the speaker’s gavel.

Emmer said he would use teamwork, communication, and respect to build on the success Republicans had taking back the House majority in 2022 and scoring legislative wins.

Despite McCarthy’s endorsement, Emmer still has a lot of work to do to secure enough votes, and don’t expect him to get any help from President Trump.

President Trump privately told allies on Friday he does not back House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s bid for speaker.

From Politico:

Trump’s conversations come as Emmer has begun privately expressing his interest in the post.

The Minnesota Republican, who has been making calls to fellow lawmakers, has emerged as an early frontrunner, having received the endorsement of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

But a sustained offensive from Trump, if one materializes, could spell doom, as any candidate for the job can only afford to lose a handful of votes.

The 45^th president’s allies have already started working to thwart Emmer’s candidacy. The president’s supporters have begun passing around opposition research on the congress member.

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But the pro-Trump podcast “War Room” also became very anti-Emmer on Friday.

“If somebody is so out of step with where the Republican electorate is, where the MAGA movement is, how can they even be in the conversation?” Epshteyn said. “We need a MAGA speaker. That’s what it comes down to. Because if you look at the numbers, if you look at the energy, if you look at the heat, this is the Trump party, this is the MAGA party. It is no longer the old-school khaki establishment Republican Party.”

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon called Emmer a “Trump hater.”

Tom Emmer is Nancy Pelosi in a Suit@CarolineWren, senior advisor for @KariLake, tells Steve Bannon that a vote for GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer as speaker of the House is a vote for Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation of President Trump. Emmer had a hand in raising the… pic.twitter.com/rzg7UKoedB

— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) October 20, 2023