Another eventful day unfolded in Washington as House Republicans made yet another unsuccessful attempt to nominate a new speaker of the House. As always, the late-night hosts closely observed the situation.
The latest nominee for speaker from the House Republicans was Representative Tom Emmer from Minnesota. However, it didn’t take long for his chances to dwindle, leading to his withdrawal due to a lack of sufficient votes.
Although Emmer’s time as a potential new speaker was short-lived, it provided ample material for all the major late-night shows to delve into his story.
Emmer’s roller coaster day
On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host highlighted Emmer’s key qualifications as a Representative, including his role as the House majority whip and his position on the Financial Services Committee. Colbert also pointed out Emmer’s two DUI infractions and his subsequent sponsorship of legislation to reduce penalties for drunk drivers.
“Okay, a little self-serving,” Colbert remarked before joking, “He also introduced H.R. 2435: That Mailbox Was Already Knocked Down.”
Colbert further highlighted Emmer’s memorable upside-down appearance during a COVID-era Zoom meeting in the House Committee. Colbert playfully imitated Emmer and said, “Full disclosure, I’ve been drinking so I don’t know how to fix this. Hold on, I’m just gonna drive over to the genius bar.”
On Live, the host began by setting the overall scene before discussing Emmer’s day.
“In the history of our country, we have never seen a situation like this. There’s nothing in the constitution that covers it because our founding fathers, as forward-thinking as they were, never imagined such a large group of elected officials being so unbelievably dumb,” Kimmel commented.
When talking about the GOP’s decision to narrow down the field of eight candidates to Tom Emmer, Kimmel quipped, “They picked him, and then they kicked him out in four hours. It was crazy. This morning I didn’t even know who Tom Emmer was, and now I still don’t. I have no idea. Altoids last longer than these Republican nominees.”
On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in addition to highlighting Emmer’s upside-down Zoom mishap from 2021, Fallon also joked about Emmer’s eventful day on Tuesday.
“Yep, this morning Emmer ordered 1,000 business cards, and this afternoon his assistant was like, ‘I’m gonna go ahead and cancel that order,'” Fallon quipped.
Late Night with Seth Meyers also touched on the news with the host remarking, “Republicans have nominated Minnesota representative Tom Emmer for Speaker of the House, but it remains to be seen whether Emmer can get past these ef-ers,” while showing a three-way photo of Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, and Lauren Boebert.
On The Daily Show, guest host Desus Nice light-heartedly joked about Emmer’s short-lived bid for speakership, calling him a “poor bastard” and adding, “Martin Scorsese is out there makin’ movies that last longer than Speaker candidates.”
Other notable moments
The late-night entertainment also included a sketch with Fallon and Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger sharing deep truths while sitting in a walk-in freezer.
Furthermore, Kimmel surprised his daughter in a pre-taped segment where they picked up “hitchhiking” Olivia Rodrigo while on their way to school. This brought forth a wholesome and hilarious reaction from Kimmel’s Rodrigo-loving daughter.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers air on NBC, Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs on ABC, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on CBS, and The Daily Show airs on Comedy Central.
