For a very brief time this afternoon, Republican House members thought they had come up with a nominee for House Speaker whose name could go to the House floor for a vote. In a series of secret ballots held this morning, Majority Whip
Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota came out on top. Five rounds of voting had eliminated eight other candidates, and Emmer was officially designated the nominee.
The victory proved to be short-lived, however, when at least 26 “holdouts” made clear they would not vote for him, no matter what, so Emmer quickly dropped out. So, it is time for “rinse and repeat.” Another candidate forum is scheduled for tonight and candidates had until 5:30 pm to declare their bid to be Speaker. Potential candidates will present their qualifications to the group, CBS News reported, although other members of the GOP conference say they’re not sure what will happen at the meeting.
