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A new Republican Speaker Designate has emerged on Capitol Hill on Tuesday following several rounds of secret ballot voting, and Americans may be left reeling from the sudden divergence from candidates like Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
According to Axios, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has won the GOP nomination for the speakership, edging out seven other House Republicans, including Rep. Donalds and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.
The latest nomination comes on the heels of Rep. Jordan’s failed speakership bid and just three weeks after Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted from his position after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., filed a motion to vacate.
The ensuing vacancy has caused a considerable amount of inner turmoil in the House as members have struggled to come together to vote for a new leader.
On Monday in New Hampshire, President Trump spoke briefly with the press about whether he would support Rep. Emmer for the speakership. He joked, “I think he’s my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday and said, ‘I’m your biggest fan.”
As far as endorsing anyone for the speakership, Trump noted that he was “looking at a lot of people…I’m trying to stay out of it as much as possible. But they’ll get it straightened out. But, no, I’ve always gotten along with him. I get along with all of them, really.”
Previously, the president endorsed and backed the speakership bid of Rep. Jim Jordan. On Tuesday afternoon, Trump clearly refuted the idea that he would extend that same endorsement to Rep. Emmer, writing on Truth Social that the congressman was a “RINO” who was “totally out-of-touch with Republican voters.”
He explained, “I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them. He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
President Trump added that Emmer had “fought me all the way” and said that the Republican Party couldn’t take a “chance” on someone like him. “Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!” he concluded.
Preceding Rep. Emmer’s nomination for Speaker, Trump re-shared a video on Truth Social this week that zeroed in on Emmer’s work as a paid spokesperson for The National Popular Vote initiative. According to The National Pulse, the organization has reportedly been funded by George Soros and has been supported by former President Barack Obama.
The National Popular Vote initiative, for reference, advocates for a national popular vote to determine the victor of a presidential election, which would all but completely negate the purpose of the Electoral College.