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Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s speaker bid lasted only four hours before he dropped out in the face of steadfast opposition from a number of rightwing members of the House Republican conference.
Mr Emmer won the nomination on Tuesday for speaker after five rounds of internal voting, but it quickly became clear that he wouldn’t reach the 217 votes needed on the floor of the House.
This comes after Donald Trump voiced his unhappiness with the result of the latest ballot to decide who would be the Republican Party nominee for Speaker of the House.
The former president posted on Truth Social, attacking Mr Emmer as a “Globalist RINO”.
Mr Emmer, who joined the House after winning his seat in 2014 after spending six years in the state legislature and losing a tight race for Minnesota governor in 2010, won the first round of voting for the speaker nomination after receiving 78 votes, with Mr Johnson coming in second with 34 votes.
Mr Emmer’s lead grew in the second round, gaining 12 votes. Mr Johnson remained in second, gaining three votes. In the third ballot, Mr Emmer got 100 votes, 107 on the fourth, and finally 117 on the fifth.
