Republican Representative Tom Emmer withdrew his candidacy for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, the latest setback for lawmakers who have struggled for three weeks to fill one of the top leadership roles in the U.S. government.

The role of speaker of the House has been vacant since October 3 when Representative Kevin McCarthy became the first-ever speaker to be removed from his position. Eight Republicans joined with all 212 House Democrats for that vote. 

A right-wing faction of the Republican Party was displeased with McCarthy for passing a short-term measure funding the government to keep it open past a September 30 deadline.   

Emmer outlasted eight other candidates in rounds of secret balloting earlier Tuesday. The 62-year-old Emmer has served as majority whip, one of the top leadership posts in the House Republican Conference, since earlier this year. He has represented the Midwestern state of Minnesota since 2015.

Former President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform early Tuesday afternoon that he did not know Emmer well and referred to him as a RINO – a term meaning Republican in Name Only.

“The Republican Party cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are. Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!” Trump posted.

As many as 20 Republican House lawmakers said they would not vote for Emmer, and he withdrew later in the day.

Since McCarthy’s ouster, House Republicans have been unsuccessful in coalescing around a replacement. They first nominated Representative Steve Scalise of the southern state of Louisiana, who was not able to secure the needed votes.

The Republican caucus next gave its nod to Representative Jim Jordan of the Midwestern state of Ohio. Jordan is a conservative firebrand and staunch supporter of Trump. 

But Jordan also failed to gain a 217-vote majority in the House, falling well short on a first vote in the full House and then losing ground on two subsequent ballots.

The Republican infighting has left the role of speaker unfilled, leaving the House unable to respond to crucial budget matters. A November 17 deadline looms for budget issues to be resolved or a partial government shutdown will go into effect.

The U.S. Speaker of the House is second in the line of presidential succession.   
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