House Democratic leaders say they would help save Speaker Johnson's job : NPR

Table Of Content

• Republicans to hold another candidate forum at 6 p.m.
• Democrats Announce That They Will Rescue Johnson if He Faces Ouster Vote
• Tom Emmer won nomination only to drop out after opposition by Trump and far right
• Emmer leaves Republican conference meeting, won't say if he's still in the race
• House begins first round of voting for speaker
• Stefanik to deliver nominating speech for Johnson
• House to take up resolution declaring support for Israel

Wednesday as he and his supporters work to persuade the remaining holdouts to flip in his favor. The House adjourned Tuesday evening after Jordan failed to garner enough Republican support to clinch the gavel in the first ballot for House speaker. Eight House Republicans and 208 House Democrats voted Tuesday to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — the first time in U.S. history a House speaker has been removed in a no-confidence vote. Mr. Johnson faced no opposition from his own party, and won in a party-line vote. In previous rounds of voting, as many as 25 Republicans opposed their party’s nominee. "I made my decision based on my relationship with the conference," Emmer told reporters when asked whether Trump helped doom his candidacy.

Republicans to hold another candidate forum at 6 p.m.

"Who knows, we might end up back at Speaker McCarthy. He's still got the most votes on anybody in that room." The third nominee, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, dropped out of the Republican race for speaker just four hours after he was elected Tuesday. He failed to persuade far-right members of the conference to support him on the floor.

Democrats Announce That They Will Rescue Johnson if He Faces Ouster Vote

Won a closed-door vote, beating six others vying for the Republican nomination for speaker. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

Tom Emmer won nomination only to drop out after opposition by Trump and far right

"We continue to look forward to finding bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible." He noted that Democrats provided support for legislation to raise the debt ceiling, avoid a government shutdown and provide disaster relief funding. The Democratic leader then took his place at the dais and delivered a speech cheering the work of House Democrats so far this Congress, while decrying the dysfunction that gripped the House over the last three weeks.

Emmer leaves Republican conference meeting, won't say if he's still in the race

At least a handful of holdout Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio Republican as too extreme to be second in line to the presidency. While Jordan has made a reputation as a chaos agent in his time in Congress, the Ohio Republican, unlike previous speaker candidates, has no real legislative chops. The House went into recess shortly Tuesday afternoon after Jordan lost the first round of voting to become the chamber’s leader. In all, 212 Democrats voted unanimously for their House leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, while 200 Republicans voted for Jordan and 20 for someone else. Jordan must pick up most of the GOP holdouts to reach the 217 majority threshold.

Jordan lost 20 Republican votes in the first round, and in the final count, he ended up with 200 votes, leaving him shy of the 217 needed for a majority. Several members have said Emmer initially wanted to go to the floor today, but that seems highly unlikely unless he can flip some of the holdouts during the open forum. Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota is now the GOP nominee for speaker, besting Rep. Mike Johnson in Republicans' final secret ballot, according to House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana called Emmer the "single most liberal member" of Republican leadership and accused the "left flank" of the conference of blocking Jordan's nomination. House Republicans are expected to vote within their conference for a new speaker nominee this evening.

Party leaders said their members would join an effort to table any attempt to remove the Republican speaker after he allowed House passage of military aid to Ukraine. Just one aggrieved lawmaker can initiate the process to remove a speaker thanks to a decision by McCarthy to change the lower chamber's rules. In his own pursuit of the speakership early last year, McCarthy agreed to allow for a vote on his ouster if it was called for by just a single member. A vast majority of both Republicans and Democrats are expected to dismiss Greene's motion, but the conservative firebrand defended her move, saying the motion would allow Americans to see who supports the speaker.

Other Republican leaders, including Trump’s hand-picked head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Whatley, have urged House Republicans to hold off the removal effort before the fall election that will determine which party controls the White House and Congress. Speaking outside the Capitol, Greene ranted against Republican Party leaders at the highest levels and pushed back against their public entreaties, including from Donald Trump, to avoid another messy political fight so close to the November election. With her was Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the few lawmakers to join her effort. Swearing in members, naming committee chairs, engaging in floor proceedings and launching oversight investigations will all be delayed until a speaker is elected and sworn into office. Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy received just 203 in the first two rounds of voting on the first day — less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber — and fared even worse with 202 in round three. After days of contention over stopgap spending measures to avert a federal shutdown, Mr. McCarthy, with the support of more than 200 Democrats, managed on Saturday to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through mid-November.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will force a vote to remove House Speaker next week - WLBT

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will force a vote to remove House Speaker next week.

Posted: Wed, 01 May 2024 16:15:00 GMT [source]

"Members are advised that House Republicans are planning to adjourn and votes are no longer expected in the House today," a notice from House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts said. Continue reading here for what you need to know going into the speaker’s election. Ciscomani was one of at least a dozen Republicans who had yet to throw their support behind Jordan. His lack of legislative experience has been a criticism that moderates and Democrats have deployed against him in recent days.

He accused GOP lawmakers of working to find a candidate for speaker who can pass their "extreme litmus test" opposing marriage equality, cutting Social Security and Medicare, and enacting nationwide restrictions on abortion. Shortly after 1 p.m., the House began voting for speaker, with Johnson as the Republican nominee and Jeffries as the Democratic nominee. Before the vote in the House, Johnson said he had not spoken to the president, but said he assumed he would soon. Asked if he was worried Johnson might attempt to overturn the results of the 2024 election, Mr. Biden said he wasn't. The Democratic leader also vowed that his party will continue to support Ukraine to defeat Russia's aggression. "From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have been governing for the people," Jeffries said.

Party leaders have said their support for sidelining Greene’s resolution is not the same as a vote for Johnson. It's unclear how much of an impact the former president's backing would have on the race for speaker — he endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan's bid last week, but after three failed attempts to win a majority on the floor, the Ohio congressman was forced to drop his bid Friday. "I'm staying above it. I have to right now," the former president told reporters Monday in New Hampshire.

Trump lashed out at Emmer after he won the nomination, accusing him of being out of touch with GOP voters and calling a vote for him a "tragic mistake." Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, was initially included, but dropped out before voting began. The candidates were Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, Mark Green of Tennessee, Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Roger Williams of Texas.

Won a closed-door vote to become the Republican nominee for speaker, but withdrew his candidacy after failing to win over holdouts before a floor vote. "Therefore, the Honorable Mike Johnson of the state of Louisiana, having received a majority of the votes cast, is duly elected speaker of the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress," McHenry, the interim speaker, announced after reading the final vote tally. Johnson was the party's fourth nominee for speaker in three weeks, having taken the place of Rep. Tom Emmer, whose candidacy lasted all of four hours on Tuesday. Two other previous candidates, Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, withdrew their names from consideration earlier in the process after failing to unite the party's various factions. Ms. Greene filed her motion to remove Mr. Johnson in March after he pushed through a bipartisan $1.2 trillion spending agreement that enraged the far right, but she said she would wait to force a vote, hoping that the speaker would change his ways. She had not said when she planned to act, and other conservatives have said in recent days that they did not expect her to do so imminently and that House Republicans would be better off if they toned down their internal strife.

Republicans gave Rep. Steve Scalise a standing ovation after he cast his vote for Jordan for speaker. For his part, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is smiling and joking with colleagues as he no longer bears the weight of cajoling them to unite. He had earlier predicted that Jordan would clinch the gavel on the first round. McCarthy says he does not expected another vote on House speaker right away.