1:52 p.m. ET, October 24, 2023
Rep. Joyce says if Emmer can’t get 217 votes he’s willing to bring up a resolution to empower interim speaker
Rep. Dave Joyce is pursued by reporters as he leaves a House Republican members meeting at the U.S. Capitol October 19, in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/.
Ohio Republican Rep. Dave Joyce said if Rep. Tom Emmer can’t get to 217 votes, he’s willing to bring up his resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry — but said he doesn’t know when the breaking point for the rest of the conference will be.
“I appreciate the fact that Tom is trying to get to 217 before we go out and create a spectacle on the floor, but if we go over there and we’re not getting the requisite votes that we need, we have to open the place up,” he said.
He said his new resolution “would do just that,” so they can continue to have conversations until they get the numbers.
House Republicans debated the idea last week but put the plan is on ice amid fierce pushback from some corners of the party.
“I don’t know when this conference will feel enough pain to understand that this practice is an exercise in futility, and we need to open the place back up,” he said.
Joyce said Emmer does not want to leave the room until he has 217 votes, “he wants to go, if you’ve got a complaint, let’s hear ‘em right here, let’s get this over with today, he’s not gonna make a public spectacle, unfortunately, that’s been made over there before.”
