Flood of GOP lawmakers hits the House speaker race
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A total of nine House GOP lawmakers are running for speaker, setting up a raucous closed-door meeting on Monday.
Why it matters: Hostilities between GOP factions have escalated since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, followed by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) bowing out of the race and the conference voting to remove Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as nominee.
As of Sunday afternoon, the following nine House Republicans are running for speaker, according to Punchbowl News.
- House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.)
- House Republican Vice Conference Chair Mike Johnson (R-La.)
- Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern (R-Okla.)
- Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)
- Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas)
- Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.)
- Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.)
- Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.)
- Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.)
Zoom in: Multiple GOP lawmakers said they believe Emmer has an early lead, but noted that the knives are out from certain allies of former President Trump, along with reservations about elevating a current member of leadership.
- Others argued that Donalds' support among conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus could give him an edge.
- Multiple GOP lawmakers speculated that it would take several candidates more failing before they are able to reach a consensus.
- "I haven't talked to anyone. This is a wild guess but I bet this comes down to Emmer vs Donalds," one senior GOP lawmaker said.
The big picture: "Now we're back to square one, as someone said in there that we're down three speakers, so we can't be down to fourth ... now we're at the point where no one gets the first choice," said Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas).
What's next: Expect a long meeting on Monday.
- Under conference rules, each announced candidate will have time to give an oral presentation and face questions.
Editor's note: This article was updated for the finalized candidate list on Sunday.
