House Republicans remain rudderless after Trump sinks another candidate for speaker

WASHINGTON – Another GOP candidate for House speaker lasted mere hours on Tuesday, dropping his bid soon after some Northwest Republicans endorsed him while others kept mum as former President Donald Trump attacked the party’s choice as insufficiently loyal to the “MAGA” movement.

Around midday Tuesday, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota became the third man nominated by a majority of House Republicans in the three weeks since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted by a far-right contingent outraged that the Californian worked with Democrats to temporarily prevent a government shutdown.

Late Tuesday, House Republicans voted again and backed Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who earlier in the day finished second to Emmer after five rounds of voting, with the lowest vote-getter in each round eliminated. The New York Times reported that in the latest vote, Johnson received 128 votes, but his candidacy also is in doubt because 44 Republicans voted for nominees not on the ballot.

Before Emmer stepped aside, Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, praised Emmer as “a strong, common-sense conservative” in a statement declaring his support for the Minnesotan, who led the House GOP campaign arm before rising to the No. 3 position in party leadership.

“Now more than ever, the People’s House needs to get back to work,” Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho Falls, said in a statement backing Emmer an hour later. “It is crucial we come together to pass fiscally conservative appropriations bills, cut government spending, and hold the Biden administration accountable for their failed policies.”

In a closed-door vote while Emmer was the nominee, every Northwest Republican reportedly indicated they would vote for Emmer on the floor, but 25 others said they wouldn’t. The decisive blow came when Trump posted on his social media site Tuesday, calling Emmer a “RINO” – short for “Republican in name only” – who “never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA–MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Two hours later, Emmer stepped down, acknowledging he didn’t have the near-unanimous support among Republicans required to lead the chamber.

House Republicans began the day with a closed-door meeting where eight lawmakers were nominated for speaker. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, gave the nominating speech for Johnson.

McMorris Rodgers didn’t immediately respond when asked if she supported Emmer during his fleeting candidacy, but by Tuesday night, Republicans had gone back to the drawing board with Johnson once again a leading candidate for speaker.

When asked by a reporter at the conservative outlet the Dispatch why no women had entered the speaker sweepstakes, the Spokane Republican – who left GOP leadership in 2018 – responded , “We’re wiser.”

Rep. Russ Fulcher, a Republican who represents North Idaho, didn’t answer questions about who he supported.

Democrats have said they would help elect a GOP speaker with some conditions, such as a guarantee that the government will be funded at levels McCarthy and President Joe Biden agreed to in May, but Republicans have so far rejected the idea of such a bipartisan coalition. Working with Democrats would likely cause any Republican speaker to lose the support of the party’s right flank and draw the ire of far-right activists. Some Republicans who opposed Trump’s pick for speaker, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, faced death threats.

Pressure is mounting as the short-term spending legislation that averted a government shutdown at the end of September will expire Nov. 17. If Congress doesn’t pass another stopgap bill by then – or, even less likely, pass the 12 appropriations bills that fund the government for a full year – federal workers will go without pay and parts of the U.S. government will go dormant.