Speaker hopeful Tom Emmer spoke with Donald Trump over the weekend as the majority whip tries to squash internal concerns about his negative relationship with the former president.
The call — confirmed by two people familiar with the conversation, including a Trump ally — comes as the former president has been calling Republicans on and off Capitol Hill to take his allies’ temperature on Emmer. The No. 3 House Republican is one of nine lawmakers currently vying to win the gavel.
“I am told that President Trump and Tom Emmer spoke over the weekend and that that conversation went well,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was the first person to disclose the call, said on his podcast Monday.
Gaetz, who has become an increasingly controversial figure within the GOP after moving to oust ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, hasn’t said who he is backing in the speaker’s race. He stressed on Monday that his comments shouldn’t be viewed as a sign of who he supports. But he’s been privately helping Emmer as he tries to quell deep mistrust among some Trump allies.
One person familiar declined to comment on the call beyond describing it as “productive.” But the Trump ally appeared to take an indirect swipe at Gaetz, warning that “attempts … to make the call sound like something that it wasn’t is misleading.”
“Emmer called President Trump this weekend and the two had a polite conversation. End of story,” the Trump ally added.
Trump hasn’t directly come out against Emmer, but he’s been calling House Republicans to get their take on the Minnesotan. Those Republicans include Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), according to two people familiar with the conversation. Nehls has also spoken with Emmer.
The majority whip is considered the frontrunner in the latest iteration of the House GOP’s speaker election. As the highest-ranking member in the race, he also received an endorsement from McCarthy.
But multiple Republicans have privately cautioned that Emmer — like two other candidates before him — will be unable to secure the gavel because of pockets of resistance that prevent him from landing 217 votes. It’s a problem every candidate seems to have.
