Rep. Tom Emmer planning bid to be next House majority leader
MINNEAPOLIS — Republican Rep. Tom Emmer is planning a run to become the next House majority leader, following Tuesday's vote that removed Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.
Emmer, who represents Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, has served as House majority whip under McCarthy. As confirmed by CBS News, Emmer is backing current House Majority Leader Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, of Louisiana, to become the next House speaker, saying he "would be a great speaker."
Scalise is running for speaker while he undergoes treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. The majority leader announced the diagnosis in August and said it is "very treatable." He is expected to undergo treatment for "several months."
Scalise isn't alone in making a run for House speaker, though. Fellow Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has also announced intentions to make a bid for the speakership. Jordan is the chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee.
The race sets up a showdown that will test the abilities of both men to build support from a majority of the House GOP conference, the divides among which have been on display this year as Republican leaders navigated a narrow four-vote majority.
In separate letters to their fellow GOP lawmakers urging their support, both Jordan and Scalise pitched themselves as unifiers who can build on the party's efforts to push back against the Biden administration's policies and advance a conservative agenda.
McCarthy ousted
McCarthy's ouster came after Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a motion on Monday "declaring the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant." Gaetz's move to oust McCarthy came after the speaker worked with Democrats to pass a short-term spending bill. The spending bill, which will temporarily avoid a government shutdown, was originally blocked by a handful of far-right Republicans, including Gaetz.
The Washington Post first reported that Emmer was among those potentially considered to be in line to replace McCarthy, but he has repeatedly said he was not seeking that specific role.
"I fully support Speaker McCarthy," said Emmer in a statement on Saturday. "He knows that and I know that. I have zero interest in palace intrigue. End of discussion."
The speaker of the House is not only the leader of the chamber but also second in line for the presidency. Ousting a sitting speaker by vote in the middle of a congressional term is unprecedented in American history, and McCarthy's allies warned that doing so would set a precedent that would hang over every speaker moving forward. That argument did not persuade Democrats to come to McCarthy's rescue.
Most Democrats publicly indicated they were not inclined to help McCarthy. At a caucus meeting Tuesday morning, Rep. Pete Aguilar played a clip from the speaker's appearance Sunday on "Face the Nation," in which he blamed Democrats for nearly shutting down the government. In fact, more Democrats than Republicans voted for the bill to extend government funding for 45 days.
Historical precedent for ousting a speaker
There have been three resolutions offered since 1910 to declare the speakership vacant, but only one ever received a vote.
In 1910, Republican House Speaker Joe Cannon invited a vote on his ouster, which was easily defeated. Cannon remained speaker for another year and lost his seat in the 1912 election.
Republican Rep. Mark Meadows introduced a resolution in 2015 to remove House Speaker John Boehner from leadership. But it never received a floor vote because it wasn't introduced as a privileged resolution, instead being referred to the House Rules Committee. Still, Boehner resigned within two months.
In 2019, Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham introduced a resolution to expel House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and declare the Office of the Speaker vacant. The measure was referred to the House Committee on Ethics and the House Committee on Rules.