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We Have a Speaker

After more than three weeks without a leader, the House finally elected its new Speaker a few minutes ago.  Unlike the last three Speaker designees, Mike Johnson of Louisiana received the support of every Republican today.  The final vote was 220 to 209.

Read more about the developments here and here

Uh, Take Four?

After Tom Emmer’s candidacy for Speaker sank earlier in the day, House Republicans convened again last evening to see if they could find someone else to fill that role.  Emerging from several rounds of voting, the most recent Speaker designee is Mike Johnson of Louisiana.  The House is currently scheduled to vote on the nomination at approximately Noon ET today.  It remains to be seen whether he actually has enough votes from the House and whether the vote will even occur today.

Read more about the developments here, here, and here.

And Emmer Bows Out…

Only hours after becoming the Republican Speaker-designate earlier today, Tom Emmer of Minnesota has dropped his bid.  Emmer, the Republican whip normally responsible for counting and gathering votes for the party, could not convince enough of his fellow Republicans to reach the threshold of 217 votes before going to the floor.

Read more about the developments herehere, and here.

Next Contestant: Tom Emmer

After a series of votes earlier today, Tom Emmer of Minnesota emerged as the Speaker designee.  In a contest with Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Emmer won 117 – 97.  However, like other Speaker designees before him, the question now turns to whether he has the support of at least 217 members of his party.  Following his initial victory, the Republican conference conducted a roll call vote to see if he had enough votes before going to the floor for a full House vote, and he was well short.

Conversations are taking place among House Republicans to see if Emmer can get to the magic number.

 

Try, Try Again

After Friday’s failed attempt to elect a Speaker, the House Republicans as regathering later today for a “candidate forum” to hear from the nine Members who have submitted their names for consideration by yesterday’s deadline.

Here is a just a quick recap of what happened on Friday for those of you who weren’t playing along at home:

Jim Jordan of Ohio– after making a U-turn on a proposal to give Speaker Pro Temp Patrick McHenry of North Carolina additional authority– took his candidacy to the floor for the third time.  He lost again, losing more votes.  After that, the Republicans reconvened amongst themselves for a secret ballot vote to see if Jordan could actually muster enough support if they were to vote again.  As it turned out only, only about 85 Republicans said that they would support Jordan for Speaker (there are 221 Republicans in the House currently).  The result forced Jordan to remove himself as the Speaker-designee.

What we now have a situation in which those who are interested in being considered for Speaker were given until yesterday afternoon to submit their names for consideration.  As noted above, the Republican conference is scheduled to hold a forum later this evening during which the candidates are expected to make their pitch on why they should be supported.  The current plan, which could change, is to hold another vote on Tuesday.

The nine Members who submitted their names for consideration are as follows:

  • Jack Bergman of Michigan
  • Byron Donalds of Florida
  • Tom Emmer of Minnesota
  • Kevin Hern of Oklahoma
  • Mike Johnson of Louisiana
  • Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania
  • Gary Palmer of Alabama
  • Austin Scott of Georgia
  • Pete Sessions of Texas

Read more about them and the current situation here, here, and here.