US: Tom Emmer drops out of race for House Speaker
October 24, 2023
US Representative Tom Emmer dropped out of the race to become House Speaker Tuesday, just hours after becoming the Republican nominee.
Emmer was the third person to face a House vote since Republicans ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago. Republican representatives Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan both failed to elected to the post.
Why did Emmer drop out of the race?
A congressman from the state of Minnesota, Emmer is currently ranked as the No. 3 Republican in the House.
A nominee must secure 217 votes from the 221-member caucus. The threshold is a high bar intended to ensure Republicans can elect a speaker without relying on Democratic votes, but Republicans were not able to reach it with Jordan or Scalise.
Emmer secured the nomination after five rounds of voting but appeared to be at least 20 votes short of the 217 required, lawmakers said.
"I hope we can find a different choice," said Jim Banks, one of the members who stated he would oppose Emmer in a floor vote. "Tom Emmer's not a conservative."
The US Congress has been at a standstill since the House has been without a leader, leaving it unable to address multiple global crises. It also faces a looming deadline to avert a government shutdown.
Who is Tom Emmer
Considered a relative moderate compared many of his colleagues, Emmer voted to certify Joe Biden’s election win in 2020. He supports aid for Ukraine and voted for McCarthy’s short-term resolution keeping the US government funded in late September, which required Democrat support for to survive.
He has also voted in favor of federal legislation recognizing same sex marriage last year.
As a result, Emmer has been at odds with hardliners in his party and he also faced criticism from some far right Republicans in the House for not being close enough with former president Donald Trump.
jcg/wmr (Reuters, AP)