U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama drops out of race to become U.S. House Speaker

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Alabama) is among those who have dropped out of the race to become U.S. House Speaker, which is now down to six candidates.

Palmer said on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning that “I will work with the next speaker on the ideas I have laid out so Congress can come together and do the job the American people sent us here to do.”

I will work with the next speaker on the ideas I have laid out so Congress can come together and do the job the American people sent us here to do.

With this in mind, I am withdrawing my name from consideration for Speaker. pic.twitter.com/cz4Gwzg7Fa

— Gary Palmer (@USRepGaryPalmer) October 24, 2023

House Republicans are meeting privately Tuesday to try nominating a new House speaker to accomplish the seemingly impossible job of uniting a broken, bitter GOP majority and returning to the work of governing in Congress.

No candidate is expected to quickly emerge as the top choice among the hodge-podge list of mostly lesser-known congressmen for speaker, a powerful position second in line to the presidency. On first round of ballots, the senior-most lawmaker, Rep. Tom Emmer, the GOP Whip, was the top vote-getter, but he fell short of the majority and it’s no sure path to the gavel.

“We’re going to have to figure out how to get our act together — I mean, big boys and big girls have got to quit making excuses and we just got to get it done,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., a conservative caucus leader.

The candidate list, though slimming, is still long and jumbled with no obvious choice for the job. Emmer is from Minnesota, a gruff former hockey coach who reached out to Donald Trump for backing; a distant second in the first ballot was constitutional law expert Rep. Mike Johnson, followed by newcomer Byron Donalds of Florida, a well-liked Trump ally.

Trailing was former McDonald’s franchise owner Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, a conservative leader, who plied his colleagues with hamburgers seeking their support, and several others.

In addition to Palmer, Rep. Pete Session of Texas also dropped out, as did Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania.

The Republicans are planning to stay behind closed doors until they can agree on a nominee. It could take all day. Some have pushed for a signed pledge to abide by rules to support the majority winner, but holdouts remain. The plan is to hold a House floor vote later this week.

“I feel good, but it’s up to the members — it’s in their hands now,” said Donalds after a candidate forum late Monday evening.

The House has been in turmoil, without a speaker since the start of the month after a contingent of hardline Republicans ousted McCarthy, creating what’s now a governing crisis that’s preventing the normal operations of Congress.

The federal government risks a shutdown in a matter of weeks if Congress fails to pass funding legislation by a Nov. 17 deadline to keep services and offices running. More immediately, President Joe Biden has asked Congress to provide $105 billion in aid — to help Israel and Ukraine amid their wars and to shore up the U.S. border with Mexico. Federal aviation and farming programs face expiration without action.

Those running for speaker are mostly conservatives and election deniers, who either voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results, when Biden defeated Trump, in the run up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, or joined a subsequent lawsuit challenging the results.

Some Democrats have eyed Emmer, the third-ranking House GOP leader who had voted to certify the 2020 election results as a potential partner in governing the House.

But Trump allies and other hardliners have been critical of Emmer over 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.

Trump downplayed, even derided, Emmer, with whom he has had a rocky relationship, while presenting himself Monday as a kingmaker who talks to “a lot of congressmen” seeking his stamp of approval.

Of Emmer, Trump said Monday, “I think he’s my biggest fan now, because he called me yesterday and told me I’m your biggest fan.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, the hard-right leader who engineered McCarthy’s ouster, has said several of those in the running — Hern, Donalds or Johnson would make a “phenomenal” choice for speaker.

Also running are Reps. Jack Bergman of Michigan, Austin Scott of Georgia, who had briefly challenged Rep. Jim Jordan with a protest bid.

Amid the turmoil, the House is now led by a nominal interim speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the bow-tie-wearing chairman of the Financial Services Committee whose main job is to elect a more permanent speaker.

Some Republicans — and Democrats — would like to simply give McHenry more power to get on with the routine business of governing. But McHenry, the first person to be in the position that was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as an emergency measure, has declined to back those overtures.

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