© Supplied by Associated Press FILE - Rep. Tom Emmer, R-MN, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. Rep. behind Emmer. Antonio D'Esposito, RN Y., left, and House Majority Leader Steve Scales, no. (AP Photo/Patrick Simanski, Files)WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican, said the worst job he ever had -- atrocious, he says -- was running the election committee of a Republican campaign.
But after helping his party regain control of the House in November, the former youth hockey coach must secure those Republican votes overwhelmingly to push GOP priorities.
Rallying his colleagues to support the debt ceiling, spending cuts and a probe into the Biden administration will be a mantra for the third-term leader, who has been in Congress since 2015. Republicans hold just 222 seats in the 435-strong House members. Almost everyone needs it. Reach the 218 votes needed to pass most bills.
Agree to vote only for the California representative. As Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy received 15 votes.
Emmer was the central negotiator in the effort, making side deals to win the dispute after endless meetings in his office on the first floor of the Capitol. It was an unfortunate course of budget battles and clashes to come.
© Supplied by Associated Press FILE - Rep. Patrick McHenry, RN.C. , left and deputy. noun Tom Emmer, right of Minnesota. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks in the chambers of the House of Representatives as the House meets for a second day to elect speakers and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Jan. 4, 2023 (AP Photo/ Alex Brandon, Dossier ). )Seeing as a rough-hewn Minnesotan told the Associated Press, he plans to take the job.
© Provided by the Associated Press FILE - Deputy Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, left, speaks with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during the 14th ballot in the House of Representatives as the House meets for the fourth day to elect a speaker and hold the 118th Congress, Jan. 6, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Files)Choose a Brawl Hockey spokesperson
Before joining Congress, Emmer was an attorney and state legislator. However, some of his most relevant professional experience comes from coaching hockey.
When McCarthy failed to win the speaker race on the first ballot, Eimer caused a stir in his newly built Capitol office, which was extremely bare and had no pictures hanging on the walls.
"A good team always has differences," said Emmer. "If you don't let them express themselves, you will never succeed."
Eimer tells the story of a legendary hockey coach who allowed players to practice fighting — nearly pushing it — as the Republican Party nearly imploded on the floor of the House during the election for president.
© Supplied by Associated Press House whip Minnesota's Tom Emmer is seen on television during an interview near the floor of the house on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)“You know, these guys have really gotten close,” Eimer said.
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Escalation of the budget battle
Emmer is not a part of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. In fact, some Republicans don't consider him conservative enough to lead.
But he won the Republican primary by knocking out his opponents. When it came time to broker a deal to get McCarthy elected, Emmer had to win some of the same conservative arguments.
One of McCarthy's many key concessions to woo his critics was a pledge to cut federal spending to 2022 budget levels. Such a large cut would mean an 8 percent cut to national defense, veterans and the national accounts . . let's say 17%.
The Republicans also agreed to achieve a balanced budget within 10 years.
According to Emmer, many of the latter deals were "pretentious".
"Some people might criticize me for saying it's a pretentious document, because they think there's more to it, and they're right," Emmer said. Because now we have to hold back for this."
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President Boehner, President Ryan and the old debt ceiling
One of the biggest challenges Emmer will face is getting the votes needed to hit the upcoming debt ceiling.
The Treasury Department has asked Congress to raise the country's debt ceiling so it can borrow more to pay off the country's already racked up bills.
House Republicans have insisted they would not raise the cap without making changes to how the federal government spends its money, which would likely reduce spending levels. In an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she hoped Congress would vote to raise the cap. But he said the GOP's calls to cut spending in exchange for reform support were "very irresponsible" and risked creating "self-inflicted ruin" for the global economy.
© Supplied by Associated Press FILE - Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, greets members negotiating behind closed doors. California Republican Kevin McCarthy failed to be elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives on January 3, 2023 in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Files)It was the last time Republicans in the House of Representatives, then Rep. John Boehner of Ohio and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin spoke during the Obama and Trump administrations. At the time, Republicans were trying to curb federal spending, with some success but also failures that worried the right.
© Supplied by Associated Press FILE - House Majority Leader Tom Emmer of Minnesota, left, and House Majority Leader Steve Scales after a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, files)A decades-long spending battle on Capitol Hill is heating up, especially for conservatives, so the Freedom Caucus and others struck such tough deals with McCarthy during the race for speaker.
“A lot of it was personal stuff that got thrown away after John Boehner became a speaker and then Paul Ryan,” Emmer said of the dynamic.
© Supplied by Associated Press FILE - Rep. Jay Reichenthaler, R-Penn., left, the new Republican House Whip, walks with Rep. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-MN, whips the incoming House majority as they arrive at the meeting closing of the Republican convention at the Capitol in Washington, January 3, 2023, the opening day of the 118th Congress. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Files). )"And there have been a lot of those in the last few years."
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Defense deficit
While Republicans try to use the debt ceiling vote to set their budget priorities, they differ on which spending cuts to make.
While some say they want to see all costs on the table for review, Emmer is among those who think most defenses should be avoided.
“If you take the FY22 baseline, it hits the national level and defense, not Republicans,” he said, referring to the 2022 budget level. You don't cut defense. Satisfied with what had happened to us, we appealed to the Internal Armed Forces Committee. That's not what we do."
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The best job and the worst
After helping elect a new chapter at Republic House, Emmer now must help lead them.
The reason he hated his old job as campaign chairman was because he was, as he called it, an "attack dog" who was always hurting himself. He also had to handle customer service for the Republican candidate. He chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee twice.
GOP whip job?
"Contrary to popular belief, it's pretty much the same thing," she says—lots of listening and lots of responses.
"The great thing about having 222 (Republican House) is that every vote counts," he said. "So respect everyone, respect their opinion. You don't have to agree with them. You don't even have to like each other. That's not the point. But you have to. respect."
So what's the strategy to bring down the debt ceiling or buy the bills?
"I'll let our members tell you a plan," Emmer said. "Our job is to make sure that once the plan is ready for prime time, we execute it."
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