After Kevin McCarthy’s ouster and two of the party’s most visible House members failed bids for the speakership, nine Republicans have decided to apply to fill the 20-day old vacancy. But few, if any, are nationally known figures.
While much is uncertain, Republicans are expected to meet among themselves on Monday night and vote within the conference on Tuesday morning with the hopes of narrowing to a single candidate that could garner the necessary 217 votes to become speaker. If they move that quickly and are successful — a dubious proposition as infighting and divisions have only intensified within the conference in recent weeks — one of these nine men could be speaker of the House and second in the presidential line of succession in a matter of days.
But who are they? All nine are men, none are women. None are from the same state. A couple of them have been in Congress for over a decade while others have served just for a couple terms. Seven of the nine voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021. Some cast themselves as conservative pragmatists, others as far-right loyalists to former President Donald Trump.
They all want to be the highest-ranking elected Republican in the country.
Here’s everything you need to know about the nine congressmen vying to be the next speaker of the House:
Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer
Entered Congress: 2015
Previous roles: Chair of the National Republican Campaign Committee from 2019-2023, Minnesota House of Representatives from 2005-2011, Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2010
2024 endorsement: No endorsement yet
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: No, but signed onto Supreme Court challenge
Rep. Tom Emmer is the House majority whip, responsible for counting votes and rallying his conference to ensure legislation has the support it needs to pass. The majority whip is typically the third-ranking member of leadership after the speaker and the House majority leader. The latter position is held by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who called it quits after he saw no path to the 217.
Now, Emmer hopes to accomplish what Scalise could not and what took McCarthy a historic 15 rounds of voting in January.
“Our Conference remains at a crossroads and the deck is stacked against us. We have no choice but to fight like hell to hold on to our House Majority and deliver on our conservative agenda,” Emmer wrote in a letter to his colleagues on Saturday.
McCarthy has emphatically endorsed Emmer, a gesture not extended to Scalise. Emmer had backed Scalise and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the chair of the Judiciary Committee who lost speaker votes three times on the House floor last week.
But while Scalise and McCarthy struggled to keep the right-flank of their party happy and Jordan’s strong arming tactics and far-right resume couldn’t unite the conference, Emmer is pitching himself as the man who helped get his fellow members their jobs. As chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2019 to earlier this year, Emmer was responsible for House Republicans national election strategy, funneling donor money to key races and helping the GOP regain control of the House last November even as they fell short of expectations.
“At the NRCC, we fought side by side and worked for every inch of this majority in districts across the country. We won seats for Republicans in back-to-back elections by creating a culture of teamwork, communication, and respect,” Emmer wrote, noting that he “had the privilege of getting to know all of you as your NRCC Chair and as your Majority Whip.”
Playing a key role in battleground elections may help Emmer win over Jordan’s holdouts, many of whom represent districts President Joe Biden won in 2020.
And in a bid to persuade his conferences’ furthest-right reaches, he is also reportedly pitching Trump on his candidacy despite many in Trump’s orbit publicly opposing his candidacy. Emmer signed on to an effort to get the Supreme Court to overturn Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory in December of that year, but ultimately voted to certify the results on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump says he’s spoken to “quite a few” candidates, but is staying out of the race for now.
“I think he’s my biggest fan now because he told me yesterday, he told me ‘I’m your biggest fan,’” Trump said as he filed for the New Hampshire primary on Monday. “We’re looking at a lot of people and I’m sort of trying to stay out of it as much as possible, but they’ll get it straightened out. I’ve always gotten along with him and I get along with all of them, really. A lot of good people, we have a lot of great people.”
The former president said on Monday he believes there is only one candidate who could win the speakership right now.
“I said there’s only one person that can do it all the way. Know who that is? Jesus Christ,” Trump said, laughing. “If Jesus came down and said ‘I want to be speaker,’ he would do it. Other than that, I haven’t seen anybody that can guarantee.”
Georgia Rep. Austin Scott
Entered Congress: 2011
Previous roles: GOP House freshman class president 2011-2013, Georgia House of Representatives member from 1996 to 2011
2024 endorsement: No endorsement yet
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: No, but signed onto Supreme Court challenge
Rep. Austin Scott already ran for speaker once, just last week. He entered the race last minute to challenge Jordan, lost a vote among Republicans and then backed Jordan in all three floor votes.
“If we are going to be the majority, we need to act like the majority, and that means we have to do the right things the right way,” Scott said in a brief statement. “I supported and voted for Rep. Jim Jordan to be the Speaker of the House. Now that he has withdrawn, I am running again to be the Speaker of the House.”
Scott is the vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee and serves on the House’s intelligence and armed services committees.
While he signed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit in front of the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the the 2020 election, Scott did not vote against certifying the election and wrote a letter with 11 other Republicans to congressional leadership the day before the vote emphasizing Congress did not have the authority to overturn a presidential election.
Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman
Entered Congress: 2017
Previous roles: Marine Corps lieutenant general from 1969-2019
2024 endorsement: Trump
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Yes
Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jack Bergman served 40 years in uniform and is the highest-ranking combat veteran ever elected to Congress, according to his office. It’s these credentials, Bergman has argued, that have allowed him to “have no special interests to serve” and have given him the skills necessary to bring a fractured party together.
“While in uniform, I ran into my fair share of different personalities and conflicting ideologies, and yet, it was my job to put our differences aside, establish a common purpose and goal, and see our mission through to completion,” Bergman wrote in a letter to his conference. “Let’s be clear, our incessant party infighting is holding us back from leveraging our slim House majority in taking the fight to Senate Democrats and President Biden.”
Several Michigan Republicans House members have backed Bergman.
The retired Marine general voted twice to overturn the democratic results of the 2020 presidential election.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds
Entered Congress: 2021
Previous roles: Florida House of Representatives member from 2016 to 2020
2024 endorsement: Trump
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Yes
No candidate in the race for speaker is as far right on the political spectrum and as loyal to Trump than Rep. Byron Donalds. The only nonwhite man in the race and the only Black member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, Donalds has situated himself on the most extreme end of the Republican Party.
He voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and has repeatedly said that Biden is not a legitimate president, including as recently as July. He was one of the first congress members to endorse Trump in the 2024 cycle. And he’s become known for his fiery debates in front of the press. with Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.,
Now, less than halfway through his second term, he wants to be the most powerful man in the House.
“The Democrats, they believe in top-down authoritarian management so they’re perfectly fine with just being lemmings and following the leader,” Donalds said on Fox News on Monday. “We believe in individuality, individual thought and being able to represent our districts. So if you’re going to transform the people’s House, which I believe is 100% what needs to happen, from a body focused on what the speaker wants and nobody else, into a body that is about what the members want and they work cohesively, there’s going to be some growing pains.”
“But I believe we’re going to land this plane,” he added.
Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern
Entered Congress: 2019
Previous roles: Owner of McDonald’s franchises from 1987-2021
2024 presidential endorsement: No endorsement yet
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Yes
An Oklahoma businessman worth tens of millions, Rep. Kevin Hern has quickly risen to a position of influence in the Republican House conference within just three terms. He leads the Republican Study Committee, which bills itself as the House’s “conservative conscience” and is the largest ideological group in all of Congress. Former chairs include Scalise and former Vice President Mike Pence.
“I knew all the issues that are out there and I’ve been involved in all of them since we came into the majority. You have to actually know what the problems are before you can come up with a solution and I think I’m best fit to do that,” Hern said on Fox News on Monday. “We can’t keep doing what we’re doing right now. The world needs the House back open with what we’re seeing around the world. It’s imperative that we get the Republican Party back in charge and America back in its leadership position.”
In a letter outlining a number of data points showing the dysfunction, inefficiencies and unpopularity of Congress, Hern wrote on Monday he has called, texted or met in person with every House GOP member since announcing his speakership bid.
In January 2021, Hern voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona.
Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson
Entered Congress: 2017
Previous roles: Louisiana House of Representative member from 2015-2017, conservative constitutional law attorney
2024 presidential endorsement: No endorsement yet
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Yes
Rep. Mike Johnson was one of Hern’s predecessors as chair of the Republican Study Committee. He now serves as a member of GOP leadership, serving under the fourth-ranking Rep. Elise Stefanik, of New York. Despite his leadership roles, Johnson said in a letter on Saturday he “had never contacted one person about this, and I have never before aspired to the office.”
“We all agree the urgency of this hour demands a specific plan and bold, decisive action,” Johnson wrote. “It also demands a leader who will humble himself each day before Almighty God, selflessly serve the full membership of this body, and fight ceaselessly for our core conservative principles and policies.”
A devout Baptist who spent decades “fighting on the front lines of the culture” for evangelical Christian causes, Johnson has been a staunch defender of Trump. He served on both of the former president’s impeachment defense teams and voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser
Entered Congress: 2019
Previous roles: Pennsylvania secretary of revenue from 2011-2015, executive at healthcare manufacturer Pride Mobility Products from 1988-2008
2024 presidential endorsement: Trump
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Yes
A Pennsylvania businessman who helped found and build a successful healthcare company that built motorized wheelchairs, Rep. Dan Meuser is little-known nationally, but has been making the case that his fiscal conservatism and inclusive leadership pledge make him the man for the job.
“Tomorrow’s vote will be a vote for unity and the individual who is the speaker needs to be able to keep that unity,” Meuser said on Fox News on Monday. “And it just doesn’t come with words, it comes with actions, it comes with some restructuring within the speaker’s office so the speaker’s office is truly the member’s office and indirectly the people’s office.”
Meuser’s idea is to democratize the conference, allowing more input from the over 200 members into House GOP bills, strategy and allocation of resources.
Representing a conservative, pro-Trump district in eastern Pennsylvania, Meuser voted to object to the presidential election results in his home state, but not Arizona, the other state whose results were challenged on Jan. 6, 2021.
Alabama Rep. Gary Palmer
Entered Congress: 2015
Previous roles: President of the Alabama Policy Institute think tank from 1989-2013
2024 presidential endorsement: Trump
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Yes
A conservative Alabama congressman who spent decades helping build right-wing think tanks in his state and throughout the country, Rep. Gary Palmer was one of the last candidates to announce ahead of House Republicans’ noon deadline on Sunday.
In a statement, he portrayed himself as a uniter within the Republican conference. Despite writing that he believes the country “is the most divided it has been” since the Civil War, Palmer has made it clear he has no interest in working with Democrats, a view shared by his rivals for the speakership. Instead, he argued he was the man who could execute the GOP agenda, in opposition to Democratic policies he claimed are responsible for high consumer costs and crime.
“There is a distinct difference between our vision for a prosperous and strong America and the vision of the Democrats that has done so much harm,” Palmer said in his statement. “This is why I decided to step forward in the race for Speaker of the House. To do what I can to put our differences behind us and unite Republicans behind a clear path forward, so we can do our job for the benefit of the American people.”
Palmer, like the rest of the Alabama congressional delegation, has endorsed Trump in 2024. And he was among those who voted to object to Biden’s Electoral College victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Texas Rep. Pete Sessions
Entered Congress: 1997, 2021
Previous roles: Dallas-area congressman from 1997-2019, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company from 1978-1993
2024 presidential endorsement: Trump
Voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: No
The son of former FBI director Bill Sessions, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions first ran for Congress in 1991, first won in 1996, served in Congress for 11 terms, lost in 2019 to Democrat Colin Allred and was reelected in 2020 after moving from Dallas to his hometown of Waco, Texas, to run in a new district.
Once back in Congress, some of Sessions’ first votes were to object to the Electoral College results from Arizona and Pennsylvania in a bid to keep Trump in power after his loss. The longest-serving member running for the speakership, Sessions is a staunch Trump ally and has endorsed him in the 2024 Republican primary.
Like Emmer, Sessions too ran the NRCC, but the Texas congressman had much more success than his colleague from Minnesota. Chairing the committee from 2009 to 2013, Sessions helped lead Republicans to a 63-seat majority in 2010 powered in part by the ultraconservative Tea Party movement. He also served as the chair of the influential House Rules Committee for six years, playing a central role in deciding which pieces of legislation would reach the House floor for a vote under Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan.
“We need a leader who knows how to win,” Sessions wrote in a letter announcing his candidacy. “The American people gave us a slim majority and we have an obligation to steward it well, deliver on our promises, and grow the majority in 2024.”
