Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, withdrew from the contest for speaker of the House on Tuesday, a brief time after narrowly securing the nomination of the Republican Party.
Five members of the Republican Party voted for alternative candidates, while Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana received 97 votes in the final tally. Emmer received 117 votes.
TALLY
Emmer-117
Johnson-97
Others: 5
Present: 1 https://t.co/RPFKlcwf74— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 24, 2023
Following the vote, former President Donald Trump expressed on Truth Social that electing Emmer as speaker would be a “tragic mistake.”
“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 wrote.
Emmer, according to Trump, lacks regard for the Make America Great Again movement.
“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,” the 45th president said.
Trump further stated that Emmer had begun to speak positively of him, but raised doubts about his reliability.
“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 concluded.
A source with knowledge of the whip’s efforts to secure Emmer the necessary votes to become speaker told NBC News that the Trump Truth Social post “made an uphill climb impossible.”
Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene told Fox Business Network presenter Larry Kudlow on Tuesday afternoon, as the news broke that Emmer was withdrawing from the campaign, that she would have been among the Republican members voting against Emmer on the House floor.
“We need a speaker of the House that reflects the values and views of Republican voters across the country, and they support President Trump, and they support his agenda, and Tom Emmer does not,” she said.
Tom Emmer has dropped out of the race for Speaker.
We need a Speaker of the House that reflects the values and views of Republicans across the country, and that includes supporting President Trump.
I think we’re going to see more names come back in. pic.twitter.com/7xh5mYJdaa
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 24, 2023
Greene referenced his vote against Trump’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military and his support for the Democrats’ Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which poses a legal risk to congregations failing to adhere to its LGBT requirements.
“We can’t have that for a speaker of the House,” she said.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican conference, announced on X that as of Tuesday evening, the candidates for speaker are Johnson, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Reps. Chuck Fleischmann and Mark Green of Tennessee, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, and Roger Williams of Texas.
5:30 PM was the deadline for announced candidates for Speaker. Candidate Forum at 6 PM.
Officially Announced Candidates to the House Republican Conference include:
Byron Donalds (FL)
Chuck Fleischmann (TN)
Mark Green (TN)
Kevin Hern (OK)
Mike Johnson (LA)
Roger Williams (TX)— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
Tuesday evening, the Republicans had organized a candidates’ forum.