Minnesota Congressman Emmer to seek speakership as US House remains in turmoil
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., leaves the Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
(KSTP) – After more than two weeks without a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and seemingly no frontrunners in the Republican party, a Minnesota congressman is stepping into the conversation.
Friday afternoon, hours after Republicans voted down Rep. Jim Jordan for the third time and then announced plans to find a new nominee, a source has confirmed multiple reports that Minnesota’s 6th District Rep. Tom Emmer will seek the nomination.
The speaker acts as the leader of the House and is behind only the vice president in the line to the presidency.
Emmer initially fought to save McCarthy’s job and then supported current House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise for the speaker role. However, Scalise quickly dropped out after lacking support and the party put forth Jordan as its nominee.
Had Scalise been named speaker, Emmer said he planned to seek the majority leader role.
The majority leader role is the No. 2 position in the House Republican conference while Emmer’s current role as whip is the No. 3 position.
A Minnesota congressman has never held the speaker or House majority leader roles.
It’s still unclear if any other Republicans will also run for speaker and if Emmer will have the necessary support. It’s also unclear when exactly the next vote to elect a speaker could take place, as The Associated Press reported Friday afternoon that Scalise said the caucus was going to take a break over the weekend and reconvene Monday.