The need for Democrats’ support might force GOP to rally behind Tom Emmer as speaker and end its civil war

OPINION: The Republicans’ inability to elect a speaker of the House, leaving the seat vacant for three weeks, is a national disgrace and an international embarrassment.

Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

The decision Tuesday by the badly divided and dysfunctional Republican majority in the House of Representatives to nominate Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota to become speaker sets the stage for another attempt to end the unprecedented gridlock that has paralyzed the chamber.

The Republican civil war that has left the House without a speaker for three weeks is a national disgrace and an international embarrassment. House Republicans have shown themselves to be more interested in fighting with each other than fighting to build better lives for the American people. They were elected to govern – not to attack each other in a circular firing squad.

Emmer, 62, is the House majority whip – the third-ranking Republican in the chamber. First elected to the House in 2014, he is the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the House. 

Emmer was endorsed by recently deposed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, (R-Calif.), but opposed by former Republican President Donald Trump. 

Trump supporters circulated a 216-page document criticizing Emmer for a long list of his past actions, including his refusal to vote to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, his failure to endorse Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and his support for same-sex marriage. 

The Republican internal feud has left the House unable to vote on anything except the selection of a new speaker. This includes passing a federal budget to avert a partial government shutdown on Nov. 17, as well as approving badly needed assistance to Israel and Ukraine to defend themselves in their wars. 

Seven men sought the nomination for speaker in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans. Two additional candidates dropped out before voting began Tuesday morning. 

Five rounds of voting were held, with the lowest vote-getter eliminated in each round. Emmer finally captured a majority of 117 votes. His last challenger standing – Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana – received 97 votes, according to Republican House members. Johnson endorsed the more-moderate Emmer after the vote and asked fellow Republicans to make Emmer the next speaker.

One of the unsuccessful speaker candidates was far-right Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a strong Trump supporter. Donalds would have been the first Black speaker of the House in American history if elected to the powerful position.   

The big question now is whether Republicans will unite behind Emmer to give him the 217 votes on the House floor needed to put him in the speaker’s chair if all House members vote. 

If Emmer loses the support of more than four Republicans, he will fall short of the majority he needs, assuming that all House members vote and that Democrats continue to unanimously vote for their minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. There is virtually no chance that Jeffries would pick up Republican votes to become the chamber’s first Black speaker.  

In a troubling sign for Emmer’s candidacy, 20 Republicans voted against him and five voted “present” in a roll call vote in the private Republican meeting after he defeated Johnson, the Washington Post reported. If the opposition continues, Emmer’s quest for the speakership will be derailed – unless he can pick up Democratic votes or if enough Democrats vote “present” to lower the number of votes needed to elect a speaker. 

Republicans have been unable to line up behind a single candidate for speaker since eight of their members voted Oct. 3 to remove McCarthy from the position in a remarkable act of self-sabotage. 

Democrats voted unanimously with the eight GOP rebels to replace McCarthy and then cast ballots to make Jeffries speaker. Republicans subsequently nominated Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and next voted to nominate Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for the post, but a small number voted for other candidates when the entire House voted. That forced Scalise and Jordan out of the race, leading to the Tuesday meeting that nominated Emmer.

If Republicans fail to unite behind Emmer, they could be forced to reach out to Democrats for support. But Democrats would justifiably demand concessions to give them greater power in the chamber. The threat of this happening could serve to unite Republicans behind Emmer.

Voters need to remember the Republican inability to govern when elections are held in November 2024. 

Putting Republicans in charge of the House for yet another two years would be like putting arsonists in charge of the fire department or putting criminals in charge of the police force. Many Republicans wrongly see government as an evil “deep state” rather than a positive force for good. They are incompetent, irresponsible and unable to carry out the most basic duties of governing they were elected to perform.

Donna Brazile is a veteran political strategist, Senior Advisor at Purple Strategies, New York Times bestselling author, Chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and sought-after Emmy- and Peabody-award-winning media contributor to such outlets as ABC News, USA Today and TheGrio. She previously served as interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee and of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute. Donna was the first Black American to serve as the manager of a major-party presidential campaign, running the campaign of Vice President Al Gore in 2000. She serves as an adjunct professor in the Women and Gender Studies Department at Georgetown University and served as the King Endowed Chair in Public Policy at Howard University and as a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. She has lectured at nearly 250 colleges and universities on diversity, equity and inclusion; women in leadership; and restoring civility in American politics.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post The need for Democrats’ support might force GOP to rally behind Tom Emmer as speaker and end its civil war appeared first on TheGrio.