Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday chose Tom Emmer as their nominee for speaker, but struggled to line up enough votes to guarantee he would win the job and fill a leadership vacuum that has paralyzed the chamber for three weeks.
Emmer, who currently serves as the No. 3 Republican in the House, won the nomination by edging Representative Mike Johnson 117-97 in a fifth round of voting, lawmakers said.
But in a followup vote in which he ran unopposed, lawmakers said Emmer failed to secure the support of 217 of the chamber's 221 Republicans, a high standard that the party has set to ensure it can elect a speaker on the floor if all 212 Democrats unite in opposition.
Republicans have already rejected two prior speaker nominees, leaving the chamber leaderless since Oct. 3.
Some lawmakers said they were eager to bury their differences after three weeks of infighting. But others said they would not necessarily line. up behind whoever wins the nomination.
"If we've got a weak speaker, that's not going to play well," said Ralph Norman, a member of the hard right House Freedom Caucus, before the final vote.
Emmer, who bested eight other Republicans who sought the nomination, can point to leadership and campaign fundraising experience that normally would make him a strong candidate for the post.
But Republicans have already failed to unite behind two leaders with those skills. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker by a small group of Republican insurgents on Oct. 3, and his No. 2, Steve Scalise, dropped his own bid the following week when he was unable to line up enough votes to win the job.
Republicans picked another hard right leader, Jim Jordan, as their nominee last week but dropped him after he lost three floor votes. Some of those who voted against Jordan last reported getting death threats.
Neither of those candidates managed to line up the 217 Republican votes that would guarantee a successful floor vote to secure the job. Scalise secured the nomination with 113 votes on Oct. 11, while Jordan got 124 vote in a second nomination vote two days later.
'Not thrilled'
The infighting has left the House unable to respond to President Joe Biden's $106 billion request for aid to Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security. Congress will also have to act before a Nov. 17 deadline to fund the U.S. government and avert a partial shutdown.
The uncertainty has also helped to push up the U.S. government's borrowing costs. The government posted a record $1.7 trillion deficit for the most recent fiscal year, in part due to higher interest payments.
"Washington, D.C., needs a Republican voice right now. We don't have one," said Kelly Armstrong, a Republican representative. "That's not anybody else's fault but the Republican conference in the U.S. House of Representatives."
Republicans control the House by a narrow 221-212 margin, which means they can afford no more than four defections on partisan votes. Some 25 Republicans voted against Jordan's speaker bid last Friday.
With Democrats united in opposition, Republicans will have to ensure they have 217 votes of their own.
Democrats have said they are open to a compromise candidate that would allow the chamber to function. Many Republicans have said on principle that they would not back somebody who had support from the opposition party.
That could change if Republicans remain deadlocked.
"Every hour that this goes by, members get closer and closer to wanting to try unconventional approaches," said Representative Dusty Johnson.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Katharine Jackson, David Morgan, Makini Brice, and Julio Cesar-Chavez; writing by Andy Sullivan; editing by Scott Malone, Shri Navaratnam, and Alistair Bell)