Rep. Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, finds himself in a challenging position as he strives to satisfy both his moderate voting record and the Donald Trump-aligned base of the Republican Party. As the House Republicans’ new speaker nominee, Emmer’s bid for House speaker faced immediate jeopardy when 26 Republicans voted against him, leaving him with a slim margin for error. Complicating matters further, former President Trump has posted negative messages about Emmer on his Truth Social platform despite a recent phone call between the two.
CNN has learned that several Republicans opposing Emmer remain steadfast in their stance and are advocating for a different candidate. Emmer has faced criticism from the right wing of the Republican conference due to his support for bipartisanship, including his vote in favor of a bipartisan law to avoid a debt default and to codify same-sex marriage. Perhaps most notably, Emmer broke ranks with Trump by voting to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which contradicted Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud.
Despite these recent controversies, Emmer has a history of supporting Trump. In previous interviews and public comments, he refused to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory in the election and criticized the media for calling the race in Biden’s favor. Emmer, who has been in Congress since 2014 and became majority whip earlier this year, also previously served as a state representative and now sits on the House Financial Services Committee.
Emmer’s experience as majority whip gives him insight into managing the GOP’s narrow majority. Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry, the current interim House speaker, praised Emmer for his role in negotiations that ultimately secured McCarthy the position of House speaker. Notably, McCarthy has thrown his support behind Emmer’s bid for speaker and is pushing for his election by the end of the week.
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