Washington, Oct. 24 (EFE) – Congressman Tom Emmer, the Republican Party’s “number 3” in the United States House of Representatives, withdrew his candidacy for speaker on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after being nominated, following the rejection of former US President Donald Trump and his acolytes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minnesota representative told his colleagues in a closed-door meeting that he would not ultimately choose to lead the lower house because he had no chance of passing the vote in the plenary session, local media reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emmer, 62, had been nominated four hours earlier in an internal election by the Republican caucus, beating eight other candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he quickly faced criticism from the party’s most radical members, who said he was not conservative enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decisive blow was given by Trump, who has great influence on the party and who warned on social networks that the election of Emmer would be a “tragic mistake”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great warriors,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,” the former president added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emmer recognized President Joe Biden’s electoral victory against Trump in 2020, supported a bill in September to avoid a government shutdown, is in favor of gay marriage and supports the shipment of weapons to Ukraine, which distances him from the most radical wing of his party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After his withdrawal, a new period was opened to request Speaker candidacies in which six congressmen presented, including Mike Johnson, Byron Donalds and Kevin Hern, who were close to Emmerson in the previous vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Speaker’s position has been vacant since fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted on October 3 at the request of the party’s ultra-conservative wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, Emmer is the third candidate to fail due to the internal fracture of the Republican Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congressman Steve Scalise was nominated, but was never brought to the floor for a vote due to lack of support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jim Jordan, who succeeded him, withdrew from the race on Friday after losing three votes on the floor, where several members of his own party turned their backs on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Republicans have a slim majority in the House, with 221 seats to the Democrats’ 212, so the speaker candidate cannot afford to lose more than four votes from their own ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until a new Speaker is elected, no new resolutions or bills can be passed at a time when approval of new military aid to Ukraine and Israel is up in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats have criticized in recent days that the conservatives have turned the legislature into a circus. EFE <\/p>\n\n\n\n
er-mgr\/mcd (Photo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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