House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has secured the GOP nomination for Speaker of the House.
Along with Emmer, eight other House Republicans were in the running for Speakership including Jack Bergman of Michigan, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Austin Scott of Georgia, Pete Sessions of Texas, and Byron Donalds of Florida.
Candidates for Speaker dropped out after several ballots were cast within the Republican Conference and the race came down to Emmer and Johnson. The Majority Whip defeated Johnson with a vote of 117-97.
Emmer is the third GOP nominee for Speaker since California Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the office of Speaker of the House earlier this month.
Prior to Emmer's nomination, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise had secured the GOP nomination, though withdrew his candidacy after he was unable to secure a majority 217 votes in Congress assume Speakership. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan was later selected as the GOP nominee for Speaker, though was unable to secure 217 votes in Congress across three ballots held last week.
Jordan was removed as the GOP nominee on Friday after the Republican Conference held a secret ballot.
Investigative journalist and commentator Laura Loomer took aim at Emmer's nomination and vowed to "dedicate the next year to dropping oppo files" on House Republicans supporting the Majority Whip.
"There will be no exceptions made," she said.
In another post, Loomer referenced previous footage of Emmer expressing interest in overhauls to the federal election process which included the removal of the electoral college.
Emmer also reportedly served as a paid spokesperson for the National Popular Vote initiative, per Loomer.
"This is why they want Tom Emmer to be Speaker of the House," she wrote in an X post.
"NEVER TRUMPER and COMMUNIST ENABLER Tom Emmer must never be Speaker of the House!" Loomer added.
Emmer's nomination for Speaker follows weeks of House Republican infighting after Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz spearheaded the effort to remove McCarthy from the seat.
McCarthy is the first Speaker in U.S. history to be ousted from the office.
The former Speaker supported Scalise and Jordan in their bids for Speakership and has thrown support behind Emmer's nomination.
“He sets himself head and shoulders above all those others who want to run,” McCarthy said of Emmer during a Sunday appearance on NBC News. “We need to get him elected this week and move on.”
A new ballot is expected to be held in Congress.
