The House Speaker’s Pledge: How the House and Senate Will Organize to Address the Minority Problem for the First Time in 200 Years
We now have a complete breakdown of what we’ve done for 200 years. “And so the unity pledge simply says we’re going to support the candidate for speaker that wins the majority of the votes in our conference when we get to the floor … It’s simple but it’s necessary.
It was supposed to be Steve Scalise who would take McCarthy’s place as speaker, but he quit the race after not getting enough support. Jim Jordan lost a secret vote to stay in his job after Republicans rejected him on three separate occasions.
Republicans are trying again. And there are nine representatives vying for the gig: 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 and Pete Sessions of Texas.
Republicans will meet Tuesday morning to vote for a nominee in a secret ballot election. This will be the third election of its kind in as many weeks: Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan were both named the party’s nominee, but pulled their candidacies after they failed to secure enough support to succeed on the floor. Scalise withdrew before trying on the floor and Jordan failed on three ballots by the full House. If all the members of the House are present and voting, any nominee will need 217 votes.
There are 218 Republicans in the House, while 212 Democrats are in it. Their slim majority leaves little room for internal disagreements, of which there are many. And the floor vote is where that process has repeatedly broken down.
A majority party is only a majority party when it votes as a majority, Flood told Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep on Monday. He said generations of Republicans and Democrats have chosen a speaker amongst themselves and then voted in unison on the floor to elect that speaker.
“If we’re going to be a majority, we have to vote like a majority, and that means we have to find a candidate that can bring us together,” Flood said. “And I have to think that out of 222 people, we can find somebody.”
Thegovernment is three weeks away from potentially shutting down and he wants to see who can bring people to the table.
“In a month we’re going to expect whoever the speaker is to deliver votes for the National Defense Authorization Act or the Farm Bill,” Flood explained. “If you want this job, you have to be able to show that you can move people and that is my standard.”
Rep. Domenico Emmer: The Changing Face of the GOP: Why he’s running for speaker, and where he wants to go
Former Alaska was a supporter of Emmer, who was once seen as a conservative firebrand. He was running for governor and Congress with Tea Party groups.
But he’s taken a more pragmatic approach as a member of the House. NPR’s Domenico Montanaro notes that he’s earned goodwill by running the National Republican Congressional Committee and has risen through the leadership ranks by building relationships, including with Democratic colleagues on his committees.
Emmer didn’t vote to overturn the election in 2020, nor has he endorsed the former president in the 2024 primary — meaning Trump’s allies don’t trust him.
Pragmatists in the party are looking to elect a leader to return to business, including funding the government and supporting Israel and (to some extent) Ukraine. But hardline Republicans seem to welcome the prospect of a shutdown, Montanaro says — a reflection of the deepening divides in the GOP and the battle over its future.
He considered running for speaker but did not start the race at that time. Before entering politics Hern opened 24 McDonald’s restaurants and worked on the company’s corporate leadership team. He is the chair of the Republican Study Committee, a large group of fiscal conservatives. Among the former chairs of theRSc are Scalise, Jordan and Mike Johnson.
As policy chair, Palmer is a member of the current leadership team. He’s a conservative who is pledging to focus on fiscal responsibility and focus on showing a contrast with Democrats.
Scott has made his second attempt at the speaker’s race this month. In the second secret ballot election, he challenged Jordan. Scott is one of the two candidates, along with Emmer, who did not object to certifying President Biden’s 2020 electoral college victory.
In 1996, he was elected as the most senior candidate. He has previously served as chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign and fundraising arm for House Republicans.
Republicans will vote in a multi-round secret ballot election on Tuesday. The lowest vote getter in each round will be dropped from the race, and members will vote again. It could be a lengthy process. But if candidates drop out of their own accord and endorse someone else, that could move the process along.
Johnson was first elected to the House in 2016 and is the current vice chair of the conference. He was an attorney before he was elected to Congress. He is on the Judiciary and Armed Services committees.
Emmer is the current Republican whip, and is seen as a potential frontrunner. But he could face resistance from conservative hardliners in the conference. For one, he’s not as closely aligned with or embraced by former President Trump as someone like Jordan was. He’s one of only two candidates — Rep. Austin Scott is the other — who voted to certify the 2020 election results. He brings experience to the role because he is already in leadership. The position that he is in could make him a target for the people who want a fresh face or a total leadership reset.
Elected in 2020, Donalds is the most junior member running for speaker. He is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and has quickly made a name for himself in conservative circles. During Kevin McCarthy’s January bid to secure the gavel, many of McCarthy’s opponents coalesced around Donalds as an alternate choice. He’s won endorsements from the conservative Tea Party Patriots Action and would be the first Black speaker of the House.
Bergman is a decorated military man who has 40 years of military service and is on the Veterans’ committees. He is stressing that he’s campaigning for the job just for the remainder of this Congress.
There were eight members in the race after Dan Meuser dropped out. The House can’t pass legislation on the floor until a speaker is elected, and the government can’t be funded past November 17.
The House is going back to the drawing board to pick a speaker three weeks after they voted to remove Kevin McCarthy.