Tuesday, October 24, 2023

GOP nominee for House Speaker withdraws his candidacy; the GOP's need for a clown van continues unabated

Someone else is in the dock now that Tom Emmer is out.


From AP via Yahoo! -

Republicans nominate Mike Johnson for House speaker after Emmer's withdrawal, desperate to end chaos

House Republicans chose Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest nominee for House speaker, hours after an earlier pick, Rep. Tom Emmer, abruptly withdrew in the face of opposition from  and hardline GOP lawmakers.

Johnson of Louisiana is member of House GOP leadership, a lawyer specializing in constitutional issues who had rallied Republicans around Trump’s legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

[snip]

Republican Rep. Tom Emmer abruptly abandoned his bid to become House speaker Tuesday, withdrawing within hours of winning the internal party nomination after Donald Trump objected and hardliners refused to support him for the gavel.

Emmer becomes the third House Republican to fall short in what has become an almost absurd cycle of political infighting since Kevin McCarthy's ouster as GOP factions jockey for power. Refusing to unify, far-right members won't accept a more traditional speaker and more moderate members don't want a hardliner.


Johnson looks to be the kind of hardliner that the "moderates" claim not to want


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