Speaker vote: Bergman out as Emmer leads on second ballot

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) received the fewest votes in the second round of voting for House speaker and has been removed from the race according to conference rules.

He joins Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), who was eliminated on the first ballot.

None of the five remaining candidates for speaker received a majority of the vote, though Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) received a plurality, meaning the election will advance to a third round. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), one of eight candidates heading into Tuesday, dropped out of the race shortly before voting began.

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Emmer received the most votes, getting 90, while Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) received 37, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) received 33, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) received 31, Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) received 14, and Bergman received 7.

The conference vote comes three weeks after eight Republicans joined with Democrats to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker, plunging the House into chaos. Since then, Republicans have nominated two replacements — Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) — only for their candidacies to fall apart in the face of internal opposition.

The third nominee, like those before him, only needs a majority of those voting in Tuesday’s election to become the next speaker designate. The real challenge will be corralling 217 votes, a majority of the entire chamber, on the House floor.

Jordan went three failed rounds of voting as two dozen Republicans eventually lined up against him. Scalise, the first pick for speaker, withdrew his name to avoid the same fate.

Republicans, particularly those who tanked Jordan’s candidacy, emerged from the conference’s candidate forum on Monday night optimistic the party would move past the sabotage and grudge-holding that defined the first two nominations. All candidates had signed a “unity pledge” to back the eventual nominee.

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Yet the question will be whether rank-and-file members coalesce around the speaker designate or if the conference will be forced to endure another round of division. More gridlock could prompt centrist Republicans to work with Democrats to elevate Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) on an interim basis.

Republicans hope to hold a floor vote as soon as Tuesday night.

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