![Representative Tom Emmer departs a House Republicans caucus meeting](https://media.guim.co.uk/bc16c05182874b02c39c53fd0a0703556592b7ad/589_182_6756_4054/1000.jpg)
Today's recap
House Republicans’ long search for a leader is far from over. Tom Emmer, the latest member vying for the speakership, announced he was dropping out of the race just four hours after his peers designated him as a nominee.
Like Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan before him, Emmer couldn’t unite House GOP members to back him. His detractors on the far-right cited his stance on same-sex marriage and government spending bills, and his willingness to certify the 2020 election in Congress.
In other news:
Jenna Ellis, a former lawyer to Donald Trump who was indicted in the Georgia election subversion case, accepted a plea deal from prosecutors.
Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, testified that the former president was told repeatedly that his allegations of voting fraud were baseless, according to report from ABC. This is the latest, and perhaps most damning evidence yet in the federal government’s case against Trump .
Updated
Report: former chief of staff testifies that Trump was warned about false election claims
Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, spoke with the special counsel investigating the former president several times, testifying that Trump was told repeatedly that his allegations of voting fraud were baseless, according to ABC.
Per ABC, which sites unnamed sources familiar with the matter:
The sources said Meadows informed [special counsel Jack] Smith’s team that he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump’s prolific rhetoric regarding the election.
Meadows also told the federal investigators Trump was being “dishonest” with the public when he first claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.
Such testimony would be among the most damning evidence yet in special counsel’s case alleging that Trump tried to unlawfully retain power after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
Updated
On Fox Business, far-right representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she couldn’t support Tom Emmer because he hadn’t supported a ban on trans people serving in the military, and because he supported the “voting rights … national voting movement that was completely against what we stand for”.
Marjorie Taylor Greene explains on Fox Business that her problems with Emmer include that he's not sufficiently bigoted and too squishy on voter suppression pic.twitter.com/yWfnMyvzUv
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 24, 2023
Updated
Emmer withdraws speakership candidacy
It looks like Tom Emmer is out of the speakership scramble…
Emmer has dropped out of the race, per multiple reports, including the Washington Post, CNN and NBC. The Minnesota congressman is the third Republican speaker nominee since Kevin McCarthy was ousted.
Emmer goes the way of representatives Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, neither of whom was able to unite their party’s far-right and moderate factions to back them. Emmer’s bid lasted just a few hours – he was nominated by the House GOP at lunchtime.
Updated
House GOP convenes as Tom Emmer's speaker candidacy faces serious opposition
Punchbowl News reports that Republicans are returning to a Capitol complex meeting room for behind-closed-door discussions that could decide whether they move forward with Tom Emmer’s candidacy as speaker:
House Republicans are minutes from convening here in Longworth for yet another closed door meeting.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 24, 2023
Emmer’s bid for speaker is just a few hours old — but it’s on the ropes.
Will he drop here? Stay in and try to wait out the night?
Even emmer allies, supporters and insiders…
The Minnesota congressman, who, as the party’s whip is the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House, won the GOP nomination for speaker this afternoon, but now faces opposition from perhaps 26 of his counterparts – which means defeat in a floor vote.
We’ll be looking out for details on what Republicans decide at this meeting.
Earlier in the day, House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar weighed in on congressman Dean Phillips’s attempt to make a deal with Republicans.
The Minnesota Democrat had suggested he would be willing to vote “present” and lower the threshold for Republican Tom Emmer to win election as speaker on the House floor in exchange for policy concessions around aid to Ukraine and Israel, among other things.
That would represent a break from Democrats’ tactics ever since Kevin McCarthy was ousted, which have generally involved sitting back and doing nothing while the GOP fights among themselves. But with perhaps 26 Republicans willing to oppose his candidacy as speaker, it would not be enough to save Emmer, and Aguilar made clear the rest of the party is not on board.
Here are his comments:
House Dems Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (CA) on Rep. Dean Phillips' (D-MN) suggestion that he may vote “present,” or not be present, to lower the threshold when Rep. Tom Emmer's (R-MN) Speaker vote reaches the full chamber:
— The Recount (@therecount) October 24, 2023
“That isn't a conversation that we've had.” pic.twitter.com/u2lqMGWKvP
Updated
The ranks of Tom Emmer’s detractors appear to be growing.
Rightwing Florida congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna is not among those reported to have voted against Emmer behind closed doors, but now says she would oppose him on the House floor:
This morning I voted for Rep Donalds for Speaker. Followed by Rep Johnson. Rep Emmer does not have votes to be speaker and I will be unable to support him on the floor. So, I’m going to ask Rep. Mark Green to throw his hat in the ring. We need to get a speaker!
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) October 24, 2023
That could mean his opponents number 27, which would guarantee his defeat.
Updated
Wondering who exactly is this Tom Emmer fellow, emerged from the (figurative) wilds of Minnesota to be the latest Republican congressman (all men, so far) to attempt to grasp and keep hold of the gavel of the speaker of the US House? Let the Guardian’s Sam Levine enlighten you:
The Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer will now be the third party leader to try to galvanize enough support among Republicans after Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio failed in their bids to be House speaker.
It remains unclear if Emmer will be able to get the 217 votes he needs to be speaker, but – for the moment at least – he is in the center of the ongoing crisis gripping the party and causing chaos in the heart of US government.
Emmer was elected to Congress in 2014, replacing Michele Bachmann, a far-right figutr who was one of the earliest Tea Party stars. When he initially ran to replace her, he was described as “Bachmann 2.0”, by the left-leaning Mother Jones magazine, but after he was elected he said he would be more low key.
Emmer represents Minnesota’s sixth congressional district, which includes a partial ring of Minneapolis suburbs and extends north-west from the city. The district is solidly conservative: Donald Trump carried it in 2020 by more than 17 points.
Emmer broke with many of his Republican colleagues and voted to certify the 2020 election.
“Simply put, Congress does not have the authority to discard an individual slate of electors certified by a state’s legislature in accordance with their constitution,” he said.
He did, however, sign on to a brief at the supreme court urging the justices to throw out the electoral votes from key swing states and suggested there may have been fraud as he supported Trump’s legal challenges to the election results, CNN reported.
Read on here:
Updated
Courtesy of Politico, here is a full list of all of Tom Emmer’s opponents among the House GOP, and who they voted for.
As you can see, many cast ballots for Jim Jordan, a prominent rightwing lawmaker and 2020 election denier who last week abandoned his bid for speaker after concluding he could not win a floor vote:
List of non-Emmer votes in conference
— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) October 24, 2023
Allen - Johnson
Banks - Jordan
Biggs - present
Brecheen - Jordan
Cloud - Jordan
Clyde - Jordan
Collins - Jordan
Crane - Johnson
Davidson - present
Good - Johnson
Gosar - Jordan
MTG - Jordan
Harshbarger - Johnson
Jackson - Jordan
(cont.)
— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) October 24, 2023
Massie - Jordan
M Miller - Jordan
Max Miller - Jordan
Cory Mills - Donalds
Nehls - present
Norman - Jordan
Ogles - Jordan
Perry - Jordan
Roy - present
Self - Jordan
Steube - present
CNN, meanwhile, heard from Indiana’s Jim Banks, who had no problems pillorying Emmer:
Jim Banks rails against Tom Emmer. “I’m a conservative. I came to Washington to fight for conservative values. I can't go along with putting one of the most moderate members of the entire Republican conference in the speaker's chair,” he told me
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 24, 2023
Updated
Tom Emmer’s issues with Donald Trump and his allies are well known, and it appeared the Minnesota congressman had moved to address them.
While campaigning in New Hampshire yesterday, the former president batted away a question about whether he was opposed to Emmer becoming speaker – video of which was posted by the congressman, as a sign he had Trump’s support:
Thank you, Mr. President.
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) October 23, 2023
If my colleagues elect me Speaker of the House, I look forward to continuing our strong working relationship.
pic.twitter.com/Pp9CcnvN43
It was apparently all for naught, since Trump has now put out a strongly worded statement against Emmer.
Politico had a good rundown over the weekend of why Trump is opposed to Emmer, who is notable for not supporting attempts to certify election results in swing states that voted for Joe Biden in 2020, as some of the other speaker candidates had. Here’s more from Politico:
The former president’s top allies are already working to thwart Emmer’s candidacy. Trump supporters have begun passing around opposition research on the congressmember, and the pro-Trump “War Room” podcast on Friday afternoon turned into an Emmer bash-fest. During an appearance on the program, top Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn noted that Emmer had yet to endorse Trump in the Republican presidential primary.“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.”
Steve Bannon, a former Trump White House adviser and the “War Room” host, chimed in to call Emmer a “Trump hater.”
Others close to Trump said Emmer as speaker would open a breach between House Republicans and their likely presidential nominee. Emmer “has no relationship with Trump,” one adviser said.
Updated
Trump attacks Emmer as 'RINO', says supporting him 'would be a tragic mistake'
And … Donald Trump hath spoken. And … he isn’t a fan of Tom Emmer, the current choice of the Republican party to be speaker of the US House.
![Donald Trump.](https://media.guim.co.uk/ead5fd3ea8a6d3de8617f761a1b6e895d6c0a91d/911_74_1618_2022/800.jpg)
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! 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!
That word salad brought to you by Truth Social, of course. Whether Emmer has “fought Trump all the way” or not is, to put it mildly, doubtful. He didn’t vote to overturn the 2020 election but he did sign on to a lawsuit seeking to throw out results, and so forth.
Ilhan Omar, meanwhile, is a Democratic representative from Minnesota – Emmer’s state – a migrant from Somalia, both one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress and a leading progressive, part of a so-called “Squad” of left-leaning Democratic women.
In July 2019, a crowd at a Trump rally in North Carolina targeted Omar with chants of “send her back”. Amid condemnation (Omar said: “I believe [Trump] is fascist”), Emmer said: “I didn’t watch the rally last night, sorry, but there’s no place for that kind of talk. I don’t agree with it.”
Trump – who at the time said himself he was “not happy” with the crowd and claimed to have tried to stop the chants – may now wish to consider that in the same session with reporters, Emmer both said he didn’t think Trump had a “racist bone” in his body, and tried to explain Trump’s attacks on Omar.
“What he was trying to say he said wrong,” Emmer said. “What he was trying to say is that if you don’t appreciate this country you don’t have to be here. It has nothing to do with your race or gender, or your family history. It has to do with respecting and loving the country that is giving you the opportunities that you have.
“I had somebody say to me recently: ‘You know when Ilhan talks, Ilhan makes it look like she lets people believe she hates America.’ Now I don’t know if that’s true, but as somebody said to me back at home, they said to me: ‘How about a little gratitude with that attitude?’”
Updated
Sidney Blumenthal’s Guardian column today – on the short-lived candidacy for speaker of Jim Jordan, the end of which precipitated today’s votes and the rise of Tom Emmer – is worth your time, starting from the opening lines about the necessity of counting votes and proceeding through Jordan’s unique political career:
![Jim Jordan.](https://media.guim.co.uk/617bbf64aa8f333afc662378ee4a4ca27157f870/1155_46_1011_1264/800.jpg)
Jim Jordan’s march to seize the Capitol began as a beer hall putsch but veered into Sesame Street. Vote after vote, he has missed the sagacity of the Count, the puppet Dracula who teaches children the number of the day. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi wryly remarked that the Republicans should “take a lesson in mathematics and learning how to count”.
After the second round, Jordan threw in the towel from his stool in the corner: no más! He endorsed instead extending the tenure and power of Patrick McHenry, the speaker pro tempore, until someone could figure something else out. But Jim Jordan the consensus builder was a short-lived phenomenon. The spirit of violence swirled around him.
Read on:
Updated
Steve Scalise, the majority leader, emerges to talk about the talks (and discuss the discussions) going on behind closed doors. Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, Scalise, of Louisiana and a previous candidate for speaker, says of the 20 or more holdouts against Emmer: “There’s some conversations, some are moving.”
![Steve Scalise.](https://media.guim.co.uk/f3f72da53975ef0a30c6bac009f044d8354e89d5/3047_98_1692_2115/800.jpg)
From the top: “First of all, I want to congratulate Tom Emmer on being selected our speaker designate with strong support. We are working right now through some questions still and we just continue our conversations.
“Obviously we want to work to make sure when we get to the floor we have 217 [votes, to make Emmer speaker] and that’s something that Tom has said he wants to do before we go to the floor. So we’re gonna have some more conversations, but this is an ongoing process. We like to wrap this up today, but we’re still talking to some individual members.”
Asked about the likelihood of Emmer (from Minnesota) making it to the floor today, Scalise says: “There’s some conversations, some are moving. You got to continue having these conversations. That’s what we’re doing right now.”
Emmer, Scalise says, is “hearing everybody in those conversations going on as we speak. So that’s the first thing that Tom’s doing, is hearing people out, and that’s what, frankly, this whole process has been about. And so he’s got to hear people out. Ultimately, work to to move them over. And we’ve got to keep working until we get to 217. And I’m gonna do what I can to help Tom.”
Matt Gaetz of Florida, who started this whole mess by prompting the ejection of Kevin McCarthy, then appears and stalks off, followed by the media scrum.
Some reading to pass the time while we wait for Tom Emmer to speak – or not – concerning the last person to actually be speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and his relationships with Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the two anti-Trump Republicans who sat on the House January 6 committee and subsequently left Congress, Cheney defeated in Wyoming and Kinzinger retired in Illinois.
![Adam Kinzinger.](https://media.guim.co.uk/d6f86464a472b20dc6482bc9f0307f70fad9fc78/1000_0_1859_2325/800.jpg)
Kinzinger will next week publish a book: Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country.
Inside, he says McCarthy dismissed Cheney’s warning about January 6 on a party conference call five days before.
Kinzinger also details two occasions on which, he says, McCarthy shoulder-checked him, physically, in the House chamber.
Those moments, Kinzinger says, made him think: “What a child.’”
In a passage written before McCarthy’s historic ejection by Matt Gaetz of Florida, the catalyst for the current mess, Kinzinger adds: “I just chalked it up to the immature behaviour that [McCarthy] favoured and that had become more and more common inside the chamber.”
Full story:
The day so far
House Republicans have nominated Tom Emmer to become the next speaker of Congress’s lower chamber, but their long search for leadership is far from over. As many as 26 members of the party signaled they will not vote for him on the floor, more than enough to sink his candidacy. This is the exact same position Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan found themselves in, and highlights just how disunited the GOP has become and what an absolute mess that ouster of Kevin McCarthy created. Emmer has reportedly vowed to continue polling Republicans behind closed doors until he gets the support he needs to win. We’ll see what becomes of that.
Here’s a rundown of today’s news so far:
Jenna Ellis, a former lawyer to Donald Trump who was indicted in the Georgia election subversion case, accepted a plea deal from prosecutors.
Emmer’s detractors cite his stance on same-sex marriage and on government spending bills.
Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman who is mulling challenging Joe Biden in the primary, said he would be willing to vote “present” when Emmer’s nomination is considered in exchange for policy concessions.
Tom Emmer is pressing on in the face of the significant GOP opposition to his candidacy for speaker.
CNN reports that he wants to continue holding roll call votes behind closed doors until he has the numbers he needs to win. But if he is not successful, congressman David Joyce says he will offer a resolution to give acting speaker Patrick McHenry the full powers of the job. Joyce made the same proposal last week, when Jim Jordan’s candidacy was flailing:
Emmer wants to keep having roll call votes behind closed-doors until he get 217, per Rep. Dave Joyce. And wants to keep fielding questions and concerns from members in there.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) October 24, 2023
But if Emmer can’t get there, Joyce willing to push resolution to empower interim speaker McHenry. https://t.co/WmwbFXSCHT
Emmer faces substantial opposition in bid for speaker - reports
Up to 26 Republicans may oppose Tom Emmer becoming speaker of the House, enough to stop him from getting the gavel, Punchbowl News reports:
.@DanCrenshawTX says Emmer at least 20 short. Roughly 20 members voted for other people & five present
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) October 24, 2023
Assuming all Democrats vote against him, Emmer can only afford to lose four of the 221 Republicans in the House – a goal he appears to be well short of.
The nominees who came before him, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, faced the same problem, and ultimately had to drop out. House Republicans have not yet announced when they will convene the chamber to hold a floor vote on making Emmer speaker.
CNN reports that Tom Emmer may have as many as 10 objectors to his candidacy for speaker – enough to torpedo his bid:
GOP Rep. Meuser told us “there are some holdouts” to Tom@Emmer’s speaker bid, saying there are “around 10” members opposed to him in the closed-door roll call vote currently underway.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 24, 2023
He can only afford to lose four Rs in party-line vote
Scott Perry, a prominent rightwing lawmaker, seemed to take issue with Emmer’s votes on government spending bills, and he may not be alone:
Scott Perry, leader of the House Freedom Caucus, said he “never” says “never” against a particular candidate but makes clear he has concerns about Tom Emmer’s votes on spending bills. “I’m concerned about that,” he said this AM pic.twitter.com/MIEaHmvs9d
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 24, 2023
The House GOP’s behind-closed-doors nominating meeting is not over yet. CNN reports that Tom Emmer has asked for a vote to determine how many members would actually support him on the floor:
After winning the nomination, Speaker designee Tom Emmer asked for a roll call vote, as we reported would happen. This will put members on the record about where they stand & make clear to Emmer who his opposition is to getting to 217.
— Annie Grayer (@AnnieGrayerCNN) October 24, 2023
That roll call vote is happening now
Recall that the party’s first nominee to replace Kevin McCarthy, GOP majority leader Steve Scalise, dropped out after concluding he would not win a floor vote. Their second nominee, Jim Jordan, withdrew after losing three floor votes. Emmer seems to be trying to avoid their fates.
Tom Emmer may have won the majority vote necessary to get the GOP nomination, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be elected speaker.
Ever since Kevin McCarthy was booted from the office three weeks ago, Republicans have been mired in deep disarray, and two other earlier speaker nominees, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, gave up in the face of opposition they determined was insurmountable.
To become speaker, Emmer will need 217 votes in the House. Democrats are not expected to vote for him, so all his support must come from Republicans, and he can only lose four votes. Below, you can see Politico’s rundown of his final vote tally. As you can see, the choice was far from unanimous, and it’s an open question whether the lawmakers who did not support Emmer will get behind him when his nomination goes to the House floor:
TALLY
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 24, 2023
Emmer-117
Johnson-97
Others: 5
Present: 1 https://t.co/RPFKlcwf74
Republicans nominate Tom Emmer for House speaker
House Republicans have nominated Minnesota lawmaker and party whip Tom Emmer as their next speaker, GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik just announced:
Congratulations Speaker-designate @GOPMajorityWhip!
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
It’s unclear if Emmer can win the 217 votes needed to claim the speaker’s gavel.
Emmer, Johnson square off in fifth round of voting for GOP speaker nominee
The fifth round of voting in the House GOP’s nomination process for speaker has begun, pitting whip Tom Emmer against Mike Johnson, the conference vice-chair:
We are now entering ballot number five with the following candidates on the ballot:
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
Tom Emmer (MN)
Mike Johnson (LA)
Per CNN, Oklahoma’s Kevin Hern and Florida’s Byron Donalds both dropped out after the fourth ballot:
Speakers race is down to two candidates: Tom Emmer and Mike Johnson. On the 4th ballot: Byron Donalds and Kevin Hern were tied for last. Donalds dropped out and Hern was eliminated. 5th ballot now.
— Annie Grayer (@AnnieGrayerCNN) October 24, 2023
Updated
Last year, Tom Emmer was among 47 House Republicans to vote for the Respect for Marriage Act, which protects same-sex marriage nationwide.
It appears that choice may be coming around to hurt his chances of becoming House speaker. Georgia congressman Rick Allen told CNN that Emmer’s vote was a reason he could not support his candidacy:
Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) says he’s “very concerned” about House Speaker candidate Rep. Tom Emmer’s (R-MN) vote for the Respect for Marriage Act, which federally recognized states’ same-sex and interracial marriages.
— The Recount (@therecount) October 24, 2023
CNN’s @mkraju: “Any way you would vote for him?”
Allen: “No.” pic.twitter.com/W66GpBRXmK
House GOP whip Tom Emmer once again led the third ballot, picking up 10 votes from the previous round, Punchbowl News reports:
THIRD BALLOT —
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 24, 2023
Emmer- 100
Johnson- 43
Donalds- 32
Hern- 26
Scott- 12
Other- 3
Present- 3
He still lacks the majority needed to clinch the party’s nomination.
The field of GOP aspirants is now down to four, conference chair Elise Stefanik announces:
We are now entering ballot number four with the following candidates on the ballot:
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
Byron Donalds (FL)
Tom Emmer (MN)
Kevin Hern (OK)
Mike Johnson (LA)
Georgia lawmaker Austin Scott was dropped after the third round of balloting. We will tell you what the vote totals were in that round once we know.
Emmer reportedly leads in second round of GOP balloting, but opposition remains
Per Politico, here is a breakdown of the voting in the second round of balloting for the Republican speaker nomination. As you can see, the GOP whip Tom Emmer won the most votes, but has plenty of opposition:
Told Tally for 2nd round is:
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 24, 2023
Emmer -90
Johnson - 37
Donalds - 33
Hern - 31
Scott -14
Bergman - 7
Told a handful voted present or other https://t.co/X3D2ZoNOx5
In second place is Louisiana’s Mike Johnson, the vice-chair of the Republican conference, and coming in third is Byron Donalds, a prominent Donald Trump ally.
Now we are on to the third ballot, per conference chair Elise Stefanik, and it appears Michigan’s Jack Bergman has been dropped after receiving the fewest votes:
We are now entering ballot number three with the following candidates on the ballot:
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
Byron Donalds (FL)
Tom Emmer (MN)
Kevin Hern (OK)
Mike Johnson (LA)
Austin Scott (GA)
Per the Hill, here’s a breakdown of the full vote totals from the first ballot:
ROUND 1 vote tallies, per Rep. Clyde
— Mychael Schnell (@mychaelschnell) October 24, 2023
Emmer: 78
Johnson: 34
Donalds: 29
Hern: 27
Scott: 18
Bergman: 16
Sessions: 8
As you can see, Tom Emmer received the most votes, but other candidates received more votes overall. It’s a secret ballot, so members don’t necessarily know each other’s choice, but we’ll see if Emmer picked up more support from other candidates in the second round of balloting.
Emmer leads first vote for GOP speaker nominee, Sessions dropped
Minnesota’s Tom Emmer, the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House, has received the most votes in the first round of balloting for the party’s candidate for speaker, a Republican source confirms.
Republicans are moving on to the second round of voting, per conference chair Elise Stefanik. Texas’s Pete Sessions is no longer on the ballot, indicating he received the fewest votes in the previous election:
We are now entering ballot number two with the following candidates on the ballot:
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
Jack Bergman (MI)
Byron Donalds (FL)
Tom Emmer (MN)
Kevin Hern (OK)
Mike Johnson (LA)
Austin Scott (GA)
Democratic Whip Katherine Clark’s has just notified lawmakers “that votes related to the election of the Speaker are possible today.”
“Additional information about the vote schedule will be announced as soon as it becomes available,” she added.
Democrats aren’t involved in the internal Republican election for the party’s speaker candidate, and thus just have to ensure their members are ready to report to the House floor in case the GOP picks a candidate and decides to hold the floor vote necessary for their confirmation.
The House is scheduled to gavel into sessions at 11am today, and then immediately go into recess, Clark’s office added.
Republicans voting to choose speaker nominee
Back in the House, Republicans are now voting in the first ballot to choose their nominee for speaker, according to conference chair Elise Stefanik:
🧵🧵🧵
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
We are now entering ballot number one of the @HouseGOP organizing conference for the purpose of electing a Speaker. The following candidates are on the ballot:
Jack Bergman (MI)
Byron Donalds (FL)
Tom Emmer (MN)
Kevin Hern (OK)
Mike Johnson (LA)
Austin Scott…
Updated
Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis accepts plea deal in Georgia election subversion case
As we wait to learn who Republicans will nominate next to be speaker of the House, there’s been some news in the many legal entanglements of Donald Trump.
Jenna Ellis, a former lawyer for Trump who was indicted along with him and 17 others for trying to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia, has accepted a plea deal to resolve her charges. Here’s what we know about that:
House Republicans meet to choose speaker nominee as field drops to seven candidates
Republicans have convened a behind-closed-doors meeting to select their latest nominee for speaker of the House. Just as the meeting kicked off, Alabama’s Gary Palmer announced he was dropping out of the contest, bringing the field to seven candidates:
I will work with the next speaker on the ideas I have laid out so Congress can come together and do the job the American people sent us here to do.
— Gary Palmer (@USRepGaryPalmer) October 24, 2023
With this in mind, I am withdrawing my name from consideration for Speaker. pic.twitter.com/cz4Gwzg7Fa
House Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik also revealed who would be giving the nominating speeches for the eight speaker candidates:
Each candidate for Speaker has submitted the following names to the Conference for nominating speeches this morning.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) October 24, 2023
Bergmann (Mike Bost)
Donalds (Mario Diaz-Balart)
Emmer (Brad Finstad)
Hern (Ron Estes)
Johnson (Cathy McMorris Rodgers)
Palmer (Bruce Westerman)
Scott (Rick…
The House Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik has laid out a schedule for the party’s upcoming vote to determine its nominee for speaker:
Today at 9 am, I will gavel in the House GOP Organizing Conference for the purpose of electing a Speaker. Each candidate will be nominated by one colleague. Votes will be cast by secret ballot with the candidate with the lowest vote total dropped from each subsequent secret…
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
A Republican source told the Guardian’s US politics live blog the eight candidates will each get three minutes to make a nominating speech before voting begins.
As Republicans in the House have grappled with a historic bout of disarray, Democrats have sat back and watched, saying they wouldn’t help the GOP elect a speaker without concessions.
And, for a while, the GOP appeared in no mood to collaborate. The conference last week nominated Jim Jordan to be their speaker candidate, an Ohio lawmaker who made a name for himself defending Donald Trump, promoting his lies about the 2020 election and carrying out relentless investigations of Joe Biden. Democrats condemned him as an insurrectionist during his three unsuccessful floor votes, which led Jordan to drop out of the race.
As the GOP gears up to nominate its third candidate for speaker, one Democrat has broken ranks to say they would be open to collaborating with the GOP to elect a leader for Congress’s lower chamber, but only with conditions. That’s Minnesota’s Dean Phillips, who is already on thin ice with some in his party for reportedly mulling a run against Biden:
The dysfunction in the House is a national and global security issue.
— Rep. Dean Phillips 🇺🇸 (@RepDeanPhillips) October 24, 2023
I would sit-out the Speaker vote if Tom Emmer will fund our government at negotiated levels, bring Ukraine and Israel aid bills to the floor, and commit to rules changes to make Congress work for the people.🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/K4VXJIE7aQ
Any Republican speaker candidate who accepts aid from the Democrats does so at their peril, as many in the GOP have made clear that’s a red line for them.
House Republicans to vote on new speaker candidate but deep divides remain
It’s now been three weeks to the day since rightwing Republicans and Democrats forced out Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, and the chamber’s GOP majority still hasn’t been able to find a replacement. The party is riven with factionalism and grievance, and two of their nominees for the post, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, have dropped out in the face of opposition they realized was unyielding.
This morning at 9am eastern time, the House Republican Conference is expected to begin voting on who should be their latest nominee for speaker. There are now eight candidates running after Pennsylvania lawmaker Dan Meuser quit the race yesterday, but there’s no telling if any of them can get the 217 votes necessary to win a floor vote. Tom Emmer, the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House, appears to be a frontrunner, but he’s unpopular with Donald Trump’s acolytes, and that may be enough to sink him. Other candidates to watch are Florida’s Byron Donalds, who is Trump-aligned, relatively inexperienced, and would be the first Black speaker, and Oklahoma’s Kevin Hern, who leads the large and influential Republican Study Committee. The vote is being held behind closed doors, but the House GOP is a leaky bunch, and we’ll let you know what we hear.
Here’s what else is happening today:
Joe Biden will this evening at 6pm ET welcome Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese to the White House.
Republican presidential aspirants are campaigning with vigor, with Tim Scott shaking hands at a variety of places in Iowa, Vivek Ramaswamy addressing the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington DC and Ron DeSantis holding a town hall with New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu.
Israel says it is “ready and determined” to continue its war against Hamas, as the death toll in the enclave hit 5,700. Follow our live blog for the latest on the conflict.
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