House Republicans were jubilant when they coalesced around a new speaker nominee after a day of marathon-closed door meetings on Tuesday.

GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., became speaker-designate on Tuesday evening, the fourth Republican nominee in three weeks.

But House GOP lawmakers insisted that their conference is finally on the same page and ready to unite under Johnson’s leadership — teeing up a House-wide vote Wednesday just after noon.

‘My wife…and I were talking, and I said, if we can get somebody like a Mike Johnson, we would be very fortunate,’ Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters after the vote.

‘I think he would be an excellent choice because… he’s very cerebral,’ Burchett said. ‘And he’s kind of a goober… but I dig that about him. There’s an old saying in east Tennessee, ‘He’s cleaner than a hound’s tooth.” 

Burchett was one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., three weeks ago Tuesday. He said Johnson ‘brings something to the table that’s lacking in Washington.’

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, one of the original 20 lawmakers to oppose McCarthy’s speakership bid in January, called Johnson a ‘capable’ and ‘good man.’

‘I think it was important to make sure that we got the right person for the American people,’ he told Fox News Digital.

Johnson also scored the support of leadership like Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 2 House Republican who was tapped as McCarthy’s original replacement — before dropping out of the race due to mounting opposition. 

‘Mike is honest, hardworking, and principled — he is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,’ Scalise said in a statement.

House Republicans had gathered earlier in the day for a speaker election where Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., came out on top. But opposition, including from former President Donald Trump, forced him to drop out hours later.

GOP lawmakers hastily scheduled another candidate forum where Johnson emerged on top after previously coming in second to Emmer. 

A subsequent roll call vote where members were called upon by name to say whether they would support Johnson on the floor saw no one vote against him, and just a few lawmakers voting ‘present.’ Johnson vowed to uphold conservative values in a press conference after the vote, in which all the House Republicans present flanked him and jubilantly cheered.

However, multiple lawmakers estimated that about 19 members were missing — a significant factor in the Wednesday vote. 

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., who opposed House Republicans’ second speaker-designate, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said ‘I don’t think so’ when asked if the absences will pose a problem for Johnson.

And Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, ‘All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.’

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the effort to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has joined in a chorus of Republicans supporting the new House speaker nominee, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.

After Republicans spent most of Tuesday behind closed doors selecting Johnson as the new GOP speaker candidate, Gaetz praised him as a ‘good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.’ The Florida Republican also told a group of reporters that his colleague is the ‘best possible candidate’ as the GOP looks to finally elect a speaker after McCarthy was voted out of the position three weeks ago.

One issue in particular that attracted conference members to Johnson was his support for single subject appropriations bills, or spending bills that fund one department or initiative at a time rather than a spending package that can force members to support some spending levels they would be uncomfortable with otherwise supporting, Gaetz said.

‘He talks about single subject spending bills being the organizing principle in the House of Representatives. That is what I’ve been fighting for since January,’ Gaetz said of Johnson. ‘It is the reason Kevin McCarthy was vacated and despite the swamps, best efforts, we got a good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.’

A majority of Republicans backed Johnson, who received 128 votes in the final round of votes, with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. Other candidates, including McCarthy, received votes.

Johnson said he was ‘honored’ to have the support of his colleagues and exhibit ‘servant leadership’ in Congress.

‘We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this Congress, in this institution of government,’ Johnson said.

He added, ‘We’re going to govern well. We’re going to do what’s right by the people, and believe people are going to reward that next year.’

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s nominee but ultimately withdrew his candidacy in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as former President Trump.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Gaetz said there were efforts within the committee to try and prevent Johnson from winning the nomination, but his supporters ultimately succeeded in getting him across the finish line.

‘Well, Kevin McCarthy did everything we could to scuttle Mike Johnson without announcing his candidacy, and he had, like, 40 people vote to try to create a balance against anybody getting to 217 but we scoped him out,’ Gaetz said. ‘We have votes for Mike Johnson across the board. And from some of these conservative members of our conference to some of our freight liners. There was enthusiastic support for this transformation.’

The Floridian said he had ‘nothing bad to say about those other candidates’ but that the consensus process — which ‘sometimes it takes a little longer’ — ultimately ‘demands consensus.’

‘This process clearly demanded consensus, and it led to the best possible candidate,’ Gaetz said.

Gaetz’s praise for Johnson echoes that of some of his Republican colleagues, who are hopeful this latest nominee — the fourth after Rep. Steve Scalise, R.-La., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Emmer — will become the next House speaker.

Scalise released a statement Tuesday calling Johnson ‘honest, hardworking, and principled.’

‘He is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,’ Scalise said.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, ‘All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.’

Rep. Russell Fry, R-SC, told Fox News that he felt ‘great’ with Johnson as the nominee.

‘Mike Johnson was the consensus pick, he’s a great guy, he’s well trusted,’ he said. ‘And I think overwhelmingly tonight the conference is ready to stand behind him on the floor tomorrow, and he is going to lead us over the next year and a half as we continue our work as the House Republican majority. ‘

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., agreed, saying Republicans ‘are unified.’ 

‘Oh, yeah, absolutely,’ Diaz-Balart said when asked about supporting Johnson. ‘I think we are, we are unified. I think we are confident and we’re unified. You know, democracy is sometimes sloppy. ‘

A vote for Johnson’s speakership is expected on Wednesday afternoon, however, both Scalise and Emmer dropped their candidacy before receiving a full floor vote.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-NC, has remained the speaker pro tempore, overseeing only minimal House protocols, since McCarthy’s exit.

Fox News’ Kelly Phares, Elizabeth Elkind and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

Some House Republicans who voted to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., appear open to Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s candidacy for the gavel.

Emmer is one of several Republicans gunning for the speaker’s gavel after the last nominee, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, failed to secure enough votes to ascend to the top House office.

The majority whip rolled into Tuesday morning’s votes with an endorsement from McCarthy, and at least two of the members who ousted the now-former speaker are open to an Emmer candidacy.

A spokesperson for Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital that the congressman has not made a public endorsement of any candidate yet but is close to Emmer and voted for the whip several times on the House floor during last week’s three rounds of balloting.

Tennessee GOP Rep. Tim Burchett’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, while the congressman has not specifically endorsed Emmer, he would vote for any candidate that can get the 217 votes needed to get the speakership — including the whip.

A spokesperson for Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital the congressman plans to support whoever the GOP nominee ends up being.

Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs’ spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the congressman isn’t publicly revealing who he is supporting at the moment.

The offices of GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia, and Eli Crane of Arizona did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Gaetz provoked the storm over the speaker’s chair when he moved to unseat McCarthy.

Emmer is currently the front-runner in the internal contest that began voting on Tuesday morning.

The Minnesota Republican won 78 votes in the first round on Tuesday morning, with the closest second candidate — Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. — securing just 29.

It’s likely to take several rounds of voting – a candidate must win a conference majority to be named speaker-designate under current House GOP Conference rules.

If no candidate manages to win a majority during a given round, the person with the least amount of votes is withdrawn from the race and another round is held. 

It’s unclear whether Emmer will succeed where Jordan and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., failed — convincing the various factions within the GOP to unite around his leadership.

‘He is the right person for the job. He can unite the conference,’ McCarthy said of Emmer. ‘He understands the dynamics of the conference. He also understands what it takes to win and keep a majority.’

Emmer said he would use teamwork, communication and respect to build on the success Republicans had taking back the House majority in 2022 and scoring legislative wins.

‘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 told Republican members of Congress in a letter Saturday about his bid for the speaker’s gavel.

The election comes three weeks after McCarthy’s ouster from the top job, the first time in history the House of Representatives removed their leader in the middle of a congressional term.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind, Adam Shaw, and Thomas Phippen contributed reporting.

President Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech to the nation last Thursday was a continuation of his confused and incoherent approach to national policy.

The border remains open during a fentanyl epidemic. Americans are struggling to make ends meet, and he imposes climate policies which make everything more expensive. The world is getting more dangerous, and he focuses on imposing social change on our military.

President Biden proved in Afghanistan that he can make disastrous errors of judgment with cataclysmic consequences. Biden’s blunder led to the collapse of an ally, the largest abandonment of American equipment in history, and the tragic conquest of the Afghans. Every day, Afghan women – who feared and resisted the Taliban for 19 years – are having their hard-won freedom ripped away.

For all Biden’s strong language last Thursday night, his administration has slowly and grudgingly sent the Ukrainians the military equipment they need. Instead of sending the army’s most advanced long-range system, ATACMs, Biden gave Ukraine a shorter range and less effective system. The Ukrainians still do not have capabilities to destroy Russian forces at long range. They also lack aircraft, which could give them control of the air. Biden likes to send money and talk big, but he won’t send the military equipment Ukraine needs.

After only a few serious paragraphs about defending Israel, Biden reverted to the traditional, failed liberal worldview of evenhandedness. By paragraph eight, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to the Palestinians: 

‘I also spoke with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don’t take that right away. 

‘Like so many others, I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life, including the explosion at a hospital in Gaza — which was not done by the Israelis.
 
‘We mourn every innocent life lost.  We can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace and have an opportunity.’

He talked about Palestinian suffering without mentioning the Israeli babies who Hamas beheaded. He talked about getting humanitarian aid to Gaza and made only a vague, cursory commitment to rescuing American hostages.

By paragraph 11, Biden was done with Israel and shifted to the war he really cares about.

‘You know, the assault on Israel echoes nearly 20 months of war, tragedy, and brutality inflicted on the people of Ukraine — people that were very badly hurt since Putin launched his all-out invasion,’ he said.

Biden made a small breakthrough by acknowledging Iran’s role in Ukraine and the Middle East. But he offered no solutions.

‘Iran is — is supporting Russia’s [war in] in Ukraine, and it’s supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region.  And we’ll continue to hold them accountable, I might add,’ he said.

Of course, Biden has never held Iran accountable for anything – and there is no evidence he is about to start. Holding Iran accountable would mean reimposing the tight sanctions President Donald Trump levied on the world’s largest funder of terrorism – or freezing the $6 billion in Iranian money that is sitting in Qatar.

Instead, Biden focused on restricting Israel’s ability to effectively fight a war to protect its own citizens. 

‘President [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and I discussed again yesterday the critical need for Israel to operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can. The people of Gaza urgently need food, water, and medicine.’

Instead of reinforcing Israel’s right to annihilate Hamas and bring swift end to the violence (which would benefit Israeli and Palestinian citizens) Biden’s classic liberal view of sympathy over success will only prolong the torment.

Of course, Biden lets slip the reality that we would have no control over aid that we send to Gaza as long as Hamas remains. 

‘If Hamas does not divert or steal this shipment – these shipments, we’re going to provide an opening for sustained delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians.’

There’s no question Hamas will steal the shipments. Any aid we send will be used to help terrorists, not innocent Palestinians.

Finally, Biden’s liberal fantasy reverted to a dream which has not been achieved in two generations. 

‘And as I said in Israel: As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution. Israel and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity, and peace.’

I hope Congress will look carefully at any package Biden sends up. The Republican majority must insist on controlling our own border as part of any package – and be clear about what we are doing for Ukraine. 

We should immediately pass an effective package for Israel, and then develop a rational reform package for Ukraine.

After his consistent failures, Biden must not get a blank check for Israel or Ukraine.

Former President Trump on Tuesday blasted House Majority Leader Tom Emmer as a ‘globalist RINO,’ warning that electing him speaker of the House ‘would be a tragic mistake.’ 

Emmer won the Republican nomination to be the next speaker of the House on Tuesday. Emmer is the third nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

But even as he secured the majority of votes in the House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner, slammed his nomination, and urged Republicans not to vote for him on the House floor.

‘I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,’ Trump posted on his Truth Social Tuesday.

Trump endorsed Jordan, R-Ohio, to serve as speaker of the House earlier this month.

‘RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,’ Trump said. ‘He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’

A ‘RINO’ stands for ‘Republican In Name Only.’ 

Trump said Emmer ‘fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me.’

‘He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters,’ Trump said. ‘I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win?’

Trump warned that 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.

Trump’s comments come as Emmer’s team has been seeking to portray the majority whip as in-line with Trump. Reports say Emmer keeps an autographed photo of himself with the former president in his office. 

Emmer reportedly spoke to Trump over the phone this weekend, as he announced his bid for speaker, but so did several of his opponents. 

Emmer had led voting Tuesday morning amid multiple votes within the House GOP conference on secret ballots to determine who would be their nominee to pick up the gavel. On the fifth vote, Emmer secured a majority and became the nominee.

Emmer is only able to afford four defections from fellow Republicans when the vote eventually goes to the House floor.

Emmer is the third nominee chosen by the House Republican Conference since McCarthy, R-Calif., was historically voted out of his role.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Oct. 3, led a motion to vacate. All House Democrats and eight House Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted to remove McCarthy as speaker— a first in U.S. history.

Since then, House Republicans tried to elect Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jordan, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor, facing significant Republican opposition.

House Republicans also sought to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry last week, but the effort also failed. 

This is the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

CONCORD, N.H. – Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is spotlighting his opposition to President Biden’s humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

‘They were wrong on the humanitarian aid to Hamas because Hamas is going to use that for terrorism,’ DeSantis said on Tuesday in an interview with Fox News Digital when asked about the $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The president, in announcing the aid last week, said the funding would help support ‘over a million displaced and conflict-affected people with clean water, food, hygiene support, medical care, and other essential needs. The United States provides humanitarian assistance through trusted partners, including U.N. agencies and international NGOs.’

After Hamas militants launched a horrific sneak assault on Israel two and a half weeks ago – in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in the worst attack on the Jewish state in a half century – Israel responded with relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that have left nearly 5,000 people dead.

The top contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – including former President Donald Trump, who’s the commanding frontrunner, DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina – have all been calling out Biden for what they charge is backdoor assistance to Hamas, which aims to wipe out Israel.

‘No U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip. Hamas is holding American hostages and Biden wants to fund them?’ DeSantis charged last week.

On Tuesday, DeSantis reiterated ‘you shouldn’t be doing that’ regarding the aid, ‘knowing that Hamas rules the streets.’

Pointing to the over 200 Israelis and some Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, DeSantis said ‘it’s doubly problematic when they still are holding all these people hostages. So wait a minute. How is it humanitarian to be holding these people hostages? That should have been a precondition before they even discussed anything else.’

‘The president has a responsibility to look after Americans, and that includes Americans overseas. And in this case, you need to be engaged in that,’ DeSantis said. ‘Most of what will go on will be things that are not going to be publicized. There’s going to be a lot of things that are going to rely on intelligence. I’d work closely with the Israelis, but I think we both have common interests in this to be able to recover all those hostages.’

DesSantis was interviewed during his latest campaign swing in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar.

Haley has also spotlighted her opposition to the humanitarian aid, noting how easily the assistance could fall into the hands of Hamas.

‘Nikki opposes taxpayer dollars for Gaza just like she did when she helped eliminate it at the U.N. The money is too easily diverted to Hamas and is not a good use of tax dollars. Arab countries should step up if they want to help Palestinians as much as they claim,’ Haley’s campaign told Fox News.

And in an interview Monday on the Fox News Channel, Haley reiterated ‘no more money to countries that hate America.’

During her tenure as ambassador to the U.N., Haley slashed U.S. funding to Palestinians in Gaza by defunding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. The aid was later restored under the Biden administration.

‘I stopped all U.S. taxpayer money going to the Palestinian refugees when I was at the United Nations. This is something that I always said – the Arab countries, it was their responsibility, not the American taxpayer’s responsibility,’ Haley said in an interview last week on Fox News’ ‘Hannity.’

Scott told Fox News in a statement that ‘there should not be a single U.S. dollar that risks ending up in the hands of Hamas. The terrorist organization brutally murdered innocent Israelis and dozens of Americans.’

And Scott vowed to take steps ‘to ensure no future taxpayer dollars make their way into the hands of Hamas.’

Trump has slammed the aid as ‘totally inappropriate.’

The White House has said the aid will be distributed through the United Nations and non-government organizations. But Hamas has a long track record of seizing assistance funneled through the U.N. or relief agencies.

While the Republican presidential contenders are mostly on the same page in criticizing the Biden administration over the humanitarian aid, they’ve traded blows on other aspects of the Israel-Hamas war.

Most notable is the verbal fireworks between DeSantis and Haley and their campaigns and allied super PACs over whether the U.S. should accept any Palestinian refugees fleeing the fighting.

FIRST ON FOX: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in coordination with the chancellor of the state’s university system, has moved to crack down on student groups in the state they say have expressed support for ‘Hamas terrorism,’ which possibly involves terminating the student chapters and suspending school administrators.

‘During a holy Jewish holiday, the recognized terrorist organization, Hamas, launched an unprovoked attack on Israel – among those killed were babies, women, and elderly,’ Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, wrote in a letter to the state’s universities exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

‘To date, approximately 1,400 Israelis have been killed, including 31 American citizens. Governor DeSantis, our State University System and the Florida College System have condemned these attacks.’

The letter states that a student group present in at least two universities in the Florida system, known as National Students for Justice in Palestine (National SJP), published a ‘toolkit’ that refers to the Hamas operation as ‘the resistance’ and says that ‘Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement.’

The letter explains that it is a ‘felony under Florida law to knowingly provide material support … to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

‘These chapters exist under the headship of the National Students for Justice in Palestine, who distributed a toolkit identifying themselves as part of the Operation AlAqsa Flood,’ Rodrigues writes.

‘Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated. These two student chapters may form another organization that complies with Florida state statutes and university policies. The two institutions should grant these two chapters a waiver for the fall deadlines, should reapplication take place.’

Rodrigues says in the letter that he will continue working with DeSantis’ office ‘to ensure we are all using all tools at our disposal to crack down on campus demonstrations that delve beyond protected First Amendment speech into harmful support for terrorist groups.’

‘These measures could include necessary adverse employment actions and suspensions for school officials,’ the letter states, adding, ‘promoting excellent educational quality while providing a safe environment for all students is paramount.’

DeSantis, a 2024 presidential candidate, has been a vocal proponent of cracking down on and condemning the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis. He recently said he would cancel student visas and deport foreign nationals who celebrate Hamas if he is elected president.

DeSantis is also planning to call for a special legislative session in Florida to increase state sanctions on Iran, the main financial supporter of Hamas.

Additionally, DeSantis allocated state resources to an evacuation operation that was responsible for chartering hundreds of stranded Americans in Israel on flights back to the United States in a move he touted as being more efficient than efforts by the Biden administration.

‘We were able to fill the void,’ DeSantis said. ‘There was no leadership. And so we stepped up, and we led.’

Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has dropped out of the race for speaker hours after being named House Republicans’ nominee, three sources tell Fox News Digital.

Emmer won a majority of the GOP Conference on Tuesday morning after five rounds of voting, against six other potential candidates. 

But it quickly became clear that he did not have enough support to outright win a House-wide vote. With Republicans’ razor-thin majority, a GOP speaker-designate can only lose four members of their own party to win the gavel without Democratic support. 

At least 25 Republicans said they would not support Emmer in a House floor vote after he won the title.

More GOP lawmakers indicated after the roll call that the conference needed to move on to a new nominee. 

‘This morning I voted for Rep. Donalds for speaker. Followed by Rep Johnson. Rep Emmer does not have votes to be speaker and I will be unable to support him on the floor,’ Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote on social media platform X. 

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., called on GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., and Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., to jump back into the race. Both lost to Emmer earlier in the day. 

‘This morning, the Republican Conference met to elect a Speaker. I supported Kevin Hern until he was eliminated from the ballot, at which time I supported Mike Johnson,’ Rosendale said on X. ‘Tom Emmer has secured the nomination but no longer has a path to secure 217 votes. It’s time to get back in the room and give Kevin Hern and Mike Johnson an opportunity to get to 217!’

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump exerted external pressure against Emmer.

‘I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social app. ‘RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them.’

Shortly after Emmer dropped out, the offices of Reps. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital they were both re-entering the race.

Emmer is the third speaker-designate House Republicans have had in as many weeks. Congress has been paralyzed since eight GOP lawmakers voted with all Democrats to oust ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the first time in history the House deposed its own leader.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio – two of the highest-profile House Republicans after McCarthy – were both forced out of the race because they were unable to win over the 217 Republicans needed for victory.

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that Republicans will push for a ‘number of changes’ regarding border security in President Biden’s requested emergency supplemental funding package.

McConnell said Israel and Ukraine aid should not be split up, but combined in a ‘comprehensive’ package since both are a ‘worldwide issue’ that correlate with other countries that pose a threat to the U.S., like China and Russia. 

‘It’s pretty clear that the supplemental that was set up is just a starting place,’ McConnell told reporters following the leadership conference’s weekly luncheon. ‘We’re going to go over it with a fine tooth comb, as you can see is a lot of passion among our members without having a credible border security provision in there, and we’re going to make other changes as well.’

McConnell said Sen. Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., has been meeting with a group of lawmakers to come up with a more ‘credible border proposal.’

‘I can tell you what, it probably will not be sending a bunch of money to Chicago and New York,’ McConnell said. ‘We want to do something about the problem, the problems at the border.’

When it comes to coupling Israel and Ukraine — which has received pushback among GOP lawmakers more skeptical of Ukraine aid but supportive of Israel — McConnell said White House officials ‘feel that this is a worldwide problem and needs to be dealt with entirely, not in pieces.’

‘Our members now that we have the package are scrubbing it for recommended changes… except for the fact that it’s worldwide, I think it’ll end up having a number of Republican changes,’ he added.

The Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent Congress an emergency supplemental funding package request — totaling $106 billion — to aid Ukraine and Israel and to increase security at the southern border on Friday morning.

The funding proposal includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for border provisions (including measures to combat the flow of fentanyl and speed up asylum processing) and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there’s $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.

But the border provisions quickly drew criticism from Republican lawmakers, who argued the funds would not stop the flow of migrants entering the country, but rather make the problem worse if there are no policy changes, like restoring Title 42.

‘The border funding that is included is all designed to accelerate the processing of illegal immigration,’ Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News in an interview Friday. ‘In other words, it’s not designed to stop the crisis at our southern border. It’s designed to make it worse.’

Meanwhile, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Tuesday morning he would be urging ‘strong bipartisan support’ to get the supplemental package across the finish line in the next few weeks. 

‘Bipartisanship must lead the way as we take up the president’s supplemental request,’ Schumer said. ‘To my Republican colleagues, let’s work together to ensure that this process remains bipartisan, because only things that win support from both sides will make it to the president’s desk.’

On Tuesday afternoon, Schumer said of Republicans’ qualms on tighter border security in the package: ‘We are not for policy changes.’