The conference is set to vote behind closed doors via secret ballot for their preferred candidate Tuesday morning.
House Republicans will regroup and again try to elect a speaker of the House this week, a usually simple task that has proved nearly impossible in a divided and wounded Republican conference that has for three weeks been unable to choose a leader.
Eight candidates from across the Republican ideological spectrum presented their pitch to their party Monday in another closed-door meeting, a rare event that has become commonplace in recent weeks. Republicans have been without a leader since they removed Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) as speaker earlier this month and then failed to coalesce around Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) as their next nominees on the House floor.
This week’s deliberation, however, could have an additional complicating factor of unknown consequence: former president Donald Trump.
Trump, who has been occupied with legal troubles and a presidential campaign, has largely allowed House Republicans to determine their own fate, saying on Monday that he’s “tried to stay out of it.” And it’s not clear the power of his endorsement, or lack thereof. Jordan, his preferred candidate, stepped down last week as the conference’s speaker-designee, despite intense pressure from conservative supporters who flooded congressional offices with phone calls.
But the threat of Trump’s opposition remains. Behind the scenes, he personally directed his allies to hammer front-runner candidate, Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), according to two people familiar with the directive who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Emmer’s sins, according to people close to Trump, include voting to certify the 2020 election and failing to endorse Trump, both privately and publicly. Emmer, 62, also has gained the reputation of being the last Republican in leadership to publicly defend Trump in various situations.
Trump’s opinion is, of course, not the only factor in the race. When Republicans eventually elect a speaker, they will immediately be faced with navigating an upcoming government funding deadline and a $106 billion emergency aid package for Israel, Ukraine and the southern border. The conference is set to vote behind closed doors via secret ballot for their preferred candidate Tuesday morning, and the lowest-ranking candidate will be eliminated in subsequent rounds until someone receives majority support. The speaker-designate must then find the support of 217 Republicans — a majority of the House of Representatives — on the House floor, as no Democrat is expected to back the Republican speaker candidate.
“Anyone who went home would have heard from their constituents that enough was enough. We have to get back to governing,” Rep. Marc J. Molinaro (R-N.Y.) said. He hails from a swing district and said he wanted a speaker who would “recognize that members like me and constituents like mine deserve a seat at the table.”
In addition to Emmer, Reps. Kevin Hern (Okla.), Pete Sessions (Tex.), Austin Scott (Ga.), Byron Donalds (Fla.), Jack Bergman (Mich.), Mike Johnson (La.) and Gary Palmer (Ala.) are running for speaker and pledging they can unite Republicans. Rep. Dan Meuser (Pa.) dropped out of the race after Monday’s forum, saying he was pleased to have input on “some structural reforms” to the speaker’s role. He pointedly noted that “my constituents are furious” and “they are blaming us” for the dysfunction on the Hill.
Overcoming divisions will be difficult in a deeply fractious conference, where factions have their preferred candidate, opposition research is being spread, and outside parties with grudges are involved. Republicans, dejected and pessimistic after failing for three weeks to elect a speaker who would reopen the House, are privately predicting that none of the eight candidates could get 217 votes by the end of the week.
Emmer — aware of the challenge Trump could pose, especially if he decides to weigh in directly — spoke with the former president over the phone Saturday, in which they had a “productive” conversation, according to a person familiar with the call.
