House Republicans Meet To Consider Nine New Speaker Candidates

The House Republican conference will convene again today to consider nine new candidates for speaker after dismissing House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) as nominee on Friday.

• The GOP will hold a candidate forum today at 18:30 ET 23:30 BST ahead of an internal vote tomorrow. The candidate with the lowest vote share will be cut from the pack in successive ballots until one wins a simple majority.
• House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) begins as frontrunner but, as was the case with former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), having the support of the party establishment will do little to win over the conservatives who will again wield an effective veto on the floor.
• Politico notes: “Emmer has a Donald Trump problem. The former president has told associates that he doesn’t want Emmer for the job.”
• The turbulence comes as the time crunch for Congress intensifies with legislation to avoid a government shutdown on November 17 and a USD$105 billion national security request from the White House pending.
• This week is likely the last chance for House Republicans to reach consensus before a plan B is pursued by moderate Republicans and Democrats.
• At some point this week a resolution to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is likely to be floated again.