Americans Furious After GOP Picks New Speaker-Designate: 'No Thanks'
The drama and chaos surrounding the vacant Speaker of the House role appears set to continue unabated after the latest nomination failed to generate much positive buzz.
On Tuesday, House Republicans officially nominated House Majority Whip Tom Emmer to be the new speaker.
Politico reporter Olivia Beavers noted that Emmer beat out Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson for the nomination, 117-97, with five voting for others, and one voting present.
TALLY
Emmer-117
Johnson-97
Others: 5
Present: 1 https://t.co/RPFKlcwf74— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 24, 2023
The news appeared to be confirmed by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik on X when she congratulated Emmer.
Congratulations Speaker-designate @GOPMajorityWhip!
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 24, 2023
A quick glance at Stefanik’s responses, however, and it’s clear that Emmer is far from a slam-dunk choice.
Not one, but at least two separate users promptly responded to Stefanik’s X post with a curt “No thanks” — and that was just the tip of the iceberg to the vociferous online response to Emmer’s nomination.
One X user told Stefanik, “I’m done with the Republican party.”
Other remarks under Stefanik’s post ranged from disgusted to furious to questioning why Stefanik thought this was good news. It was difficult to find much positivity in those responses.
Elsewhere on X, Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman illustrated that Emmer’s voting record did not fall in line with the more conservative side of the GOP — nor the MAGA side of the GOP.
Here’s how all the speaker candidates voted on key votes over the last few years.
from @PunchbowlNews AMhttps://t.co/ec4I0rQQnJ pic.twitter.com/MRyITTJnWz
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 23, 2023
According to Sherman, Emmer has voted for things such as certifying the 2020 election (a big no-no with MAGA), same-sex marriage (a big no-no with Christian conservatives), and Ukraine aid (a big no-no with a number of groups)… which posits the question: What is Emmer’s path to the 217 votes he’ll need to secure the speaker’s gavel?
Democrats are currently voting in virtual lockstep for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, but that caps them at 212 votes.
It’s unlikely any Republican representative would vote Democrat — a move tantamount to career suicide in this politicized climate — so Jeffries is unlikely to win the nomination.
But where the Democrats are futilely united, the Republicans are hopelessly fractured.
The only reason that Emmer and his polarizing reputation are up for the speaker role is because Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan failed to secure in three rounds of floor votes.
Ignominiously, Jordan lost Republican support with each subsequent round of voting, despite having support from former President Donald Trump.
Emmer, from all accounts, 100 percent does not have the support of Trump, again begging the question of how he can possibly get to the 217 vote threshold.
Until that question is answered, it looks like American frustration will continue to bubble as the House has effectively ground to a halt without a speaker — a vacancy that does not appear set to end anytime soon, short of a demoralizing deal with Democrats, at least based on the reaction to Emmer’s nomination.
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