Republicans Can't Govern: Tom Emmer Won't Make It To 217!

Newt Gingrich 2.O. Tom Emmer is a trainwreck waiting to happen.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) is the new pick for Republicans in their bid to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the former House Speaker. He is an election denier, a troll and a simpleton. The Republicans are about to nominate an extremist.

He may not have the votes to be the House Speaker.

Emmer, a longtime establishment Republican was close to McCarthy and it may be a sign that the MAGA wing will oppose it.

Emmer was elected to Congress in 2014, winning the 6th district seat being vacated by Michele Bachmann. He has since been reelected four times. The district includes the far western and northern suburbs of Minneapolis in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, most of the St. Cloud metropolitan area, as well as a large part of rural Central Minnesota, generally an agricultural region.

Emmer chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2019 to 2023. After Republicans gained a majority in the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives elections, he successfully ran for majority whip.

Emmer was chosen as the Republican nominee for speaker despite a challenge from Mike Johnson. Emmer is the third candidate of the Republican Party for the office as previous nominees Steve Scalise (Louisiana) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) failed to garner the required 217 votes to preside over the House.

Emmer was challenged for posting a video on Twitter that showed him firing a fully automatic machine gun with the caption "#FIREPELOSI". As chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Emmer led 2022 election efforts to win a majority and replace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The post occurred just days before the home invasion and attack on Pelosi's husband in California.

Emmer was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated Washed Up 45. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

Emmer, the Republican majority whip, prevailed over a crowded field of eight GOP candidates after several rounds of voting Tuesday morning. Interim Speaker Patrick McHenry has said the nominee could face a vote before the House floor as soon as Tuesday.

It is unclear if Emmer can secure the 217 Republican votes needed on the House floor. He can only afford to lose four GOP votes, as Democrats have lined up in lockstep behind their nominee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

The House has been leaderless for nearly three weeks now, which has left Congress paralyzed and unable to move forward with spending legislation as a Nov. 17 deadline looms to avoid a government shutdown. Congress is also unable to respond to President Joe Biden’s call for emergency security assistance for Israel and Ukraine until the House elects a speaker.

Emmer was one of the only GOP candidates who voted to certify Biden’s 2020 election victory. He also voted for spending legislation in September that averted a shutdown.

The House leadership crisis was triggered when a faction of eight Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, ousted McCarthy in a historically unprecedented no-confidence vote. Democrats refused to save McCarthy’s speakership, leading to the California Republican’s downfall.