Republicans Elect Pro-ukrainian Candidate for Position of House of Representatives Speaker
The faction of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, following the results of five rounds of voting on Tuesday, has chosen Tom Emmer, a native of Minnesota, as a new candidate for Speaker of the House.
Emmer has led consistently throughout the voting rounds, edging out Louisiana's Mike Johnson in the final round.
A total of nine candidates took part in the voting.
Tom Emmer, 62, holds the faction's third most powerful post of "whip", responsible for party discipline during voting in the House of Representatives. Before being elected to Congress in 2015, he chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps congressmen in their election campaigns.
Emmer is considered a mainstream Republican close to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He also voted to approve the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which Donald Trump and Trumpists themselves reject.
The Republicans for Ukraine organisation rated Emmer's support for Kyiv with a maximum positive score of A. He voted for all Congressional initiatives to support Ukraine and against the reduction of this support.
Last week, the Republican members of the US House of Representatives voted by secret ballot to remove the candidacy of far-right Trumpist Jim Jordan, who was running for the post of speaker, because he could not garner enough support, instead losing votes with each new round.
On 3 October, Kevin McCarthy resigned as Speaker of the House of Representatives. This happened under pressure from the far-right wing of his Republican Party, where McCarthy was accused of working with Democrats and a "secret deal" to help Ukraine.
The US House of Representatives cannot pass new laws, including aid to Ukraine until a new speaker is elected. The US interim federal budget is only due through mid-November, so Congress needs to address this issue to avoid a shutdown.