Republicans to try again with 4th speaker nominee

WASHINGTON — Republicans on Tuesday made their fourth pick in just two weeks to replace the ousted speaker of the US House of Representatives, underlining the chaos engulfing the fragmented party after three previous nominees failed to win the gavel.

Louisiana's Mike Johnson won an internal party vote just hours after previous nominee, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, buckled under a backlash led by former president Donald Trump and announced his withdrawal.

Congress has been at a standstill and unable to address multiple global crises, as well as the fast-approaching threat of a government shutdown, since a small faction of party rebels ousted Kevin McCarthy on Oct 3.

"The dysfunction in the Republican Party right now seems to be saying we want to lose," Kentucky Republican Andy Barr told CNN.

"That is crazy to me. We were elected as a majority to govern, and we are not doing that right now."

Johnson, the vice-chairman of the conference but a relative novice in politics, lost out to Emmer earlier in the day but quickly threw his hat back in the ring after his leadership colleague bowed out.

However, all the indications are that Johnson will likely fall foul of the same internal divisions that have left the party incapable of uniting around any leader. Nonetheless, lawmakers planned to cast ballots for Johnson at noon on Wednesday.

Trump on Wednesday urged fellow Republicans to unite around Johnson, writing on his social media website: "Go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson."

Tuesday's disarray marked two weeks since the party's first nominee to replace McCarthy, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, withdrew as it became clear he was nowhere near the 217 votes needed to be elected.

Hard-line Trump ally Jim Jordan, the next nominee, flopped three times on the House floor as successively larger tallies of Republican opponents joined the Democrats to reject him.

If Johnson were to succeed where his colleagues have failed, he would be the least experienced speaker in more than a century, having never chaired a committee or held a top leadership role.

And he could find himself presiding over a government shutdown in three weeks unless he can cut a 2024 budget deal with much more seasoned negotiators in the White House that is acceptable to his party.

He can afford to lose just four Republicans and still claim the speakership if every Democrat votes against him.

Agencies Via Xinhua