House Republicans set up a nine-man contest for the speaker’s post on Sunday, signalling what may be a drawn-out vote to fill the vacancy this week.
Candidates announced by a noon deadline in Washington include congressman Tom Emmer, an ally of ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy, former Rules Committee chairman Pete Sessions and congressman Mike Johnson, vice-chairman of the Republican Party conference in the chamber. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington said on Sunday he had decided against running.
Republicans will return to Washington on Monday evening for a speaker’s candidates forum and will start the election process on Tuesday, according to congressman Patrick McHenry, the speaker pro tempore.
McCarthy’s removal on October 3, instigated by a group of right-wing Republican dissidents, has hamstrung Congress and prompted consternation in Washington and abroad. Fiscal priorities are halted, including US President Joe Biden’s emergency funding request for almost US$106 billion that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel.
In mid-November, the US faces its next funding deadline, meaning Congress must reach a spending agreement or risk a government shutdown.
McCarthy endorsed Emmer for speaker last week and made a pitch for his ally on Sunday, calling the deadlock in his caucus “embarrassing.”
“We need to get him elected this week, and move on, and bring not just party together; but focus on what this country needs most,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press, while conceding “it’s going to be an uphill battle.”
Emmer has had tense relations with supporters of former US president Donald Trump, in part because he voted to certify Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump opposes Emmer’s candidacy, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Republicans drop Jim Jordan’s US House speaker bid after third failed vote
Republicans drop Jim Jordan’s US House speaker bid after third failed vote
Other candidates include congressman Kevin Hern, who chairs the 176-member Republican Study Committee. He could win over some moderates wary of congressman Jim Jordan, whose bid for the speakership – one of two since McCarthy’s removal – collapsed last week.
The gap between the conservative and moderate members has been amplified by disagreements on spending and culture-war issues.
Arrington, who had been weighing a candidacy, said the biggest threat to the Republicans’ agenda is internal disunity.
“There are several capable candidates who have stepped forward to run, and I plan to support whomever our conference elects on Tuesday,” Arrington said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.