Dejected Republicans pick third US speaker candidate despite Trump's rejection
The chances of finding a new speaker still look slim, despite the new nomination, ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers reports
Republicans in the US Congress have picked another nominee to become speaker of the house after ousting Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago, but hopes of him reaching the office are slim.
Tom Emmer was picked by the party but almost immediately after it was announced Donald Trump and other hardliners rejected the choice.
To actually take the place as speaker Mr Emmer will need to secure a majority in Congress, which the Republicans control with a slim majority.
Without a speaker Congress cannot pass legislation, creating a deadlock in the US government at a time when the nation is engulfed in several crises at home and abroad.
But Mr Emmer's selection looks unlikely to end the bitter infighting within the party.
Dejected Republicans, many hearing from angry far-right callers pressuring them to vote against their own nominee, planned to reassemble later on Tuesday afternoon ahead of possible discussion in Congress.
Mr Trump was quick to shoot down the choice, who has long criticised the former campaign chief as disloyal.
While Mr Emmer won a simple majority in a roll call behind closed doors -117 votes - he lost more than two dozen Republicans, leaving him far short of what will be needed during a House floor tally ahead.
Mr Trump, who has played an influential role tipping the tally in the speaker’s race, wrote on social media on Tuesday that he has "many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House."
But Mr Emmer, he said, "is not one of them" and it would be a "mistake" to give him the gavel.
Having already rejected the top replacements, majority Leader Steve Scalise and the Trump-backed judiciary chairman Jim Jordan, there is no longer any obvious choice for the job.
The federal government risks a shutdown in a matter of weeks if Congress fails to pass funding legislation by a November 17 deadline to keep services and offices running.
More immediately, President Joe Biden has asked Congress to provide $105 billion (£86bn) in aid - to help Israel and Ukraine amid their wars and to shore up the US border with Mexico.
Those running for speaker were mostly conservatives and election deniers, who either voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.
Some Democrats have eyed Mr Emmer, who had voted to certify the 2020 election results, as a potential partner in governing the House but they have so far stayed united around their nominee, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
But Trump allies, including the influential hard-right instigator Steve Bannon, have been critical of Mr Emmer.
Some point to his support of a same-sex marriage initiative and perceived criticisms of the former president.
Among the far-right groups pressuring lawmakers over the speaker’s vote, some are now attacking Emmer.
"That’s a very divisive issue," said Republican Rick Allen of Georgia, saying he could never vote for Mr Emmer because of his voting record on marriage.
Matt Gaetz of Florida, the hard-right leader who engineered McCarthy’s ouster, voted for Emmer, though others who joined in ousting McCarthy did not.
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