With no challengers in sight, Emmer poised to keep No. 3 House GOP spot

Just over a year after a tumultuous battle for House speaker, Republicans are set to decide Wednesday on their next House leaders heading into President-elect Donald Trump's second term.

Some media outlets have reported there could be a challenger to Johnson, but Scalise and Emmer appear to have a clear path for re-election.

"I think we have the support, we've done the job, and people are giving us the opportunity to do it again," Emmer said Tuesday evening on Capitol Hill.

Emmer said that so far, no one has stepped up to try to challenge him, meaning the Minnesota Republican is all but certain to keep his No. 3 House GOP spot.

The House Republican leadership elections come as Trump has been moving quickly to fill his incoming cabinet. No. 4 House Republican, Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, has been nominated by Trump to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, leaving her leadership post the only one Republicans will have to fill.

Once called a "RINO" — Republican in name only — by Trump, Emmer and the president-elect have made amends this year and the Minnesota congressman is now considered to be a part of his inner circle, putting him in a prime position to be considered for a role in his cabinet.

But when asked if he would be interested in a cabinet position in the Trump administration or if he's had any conversations with the incoming president about the possibility, Emmer said he has not and is focused solely on his work in the House.

"I'm here in the House. This is where I'm going to be, and I'm planning on being the whip for the next Congress," Emmer said. "It's going to be a great new day without Chuck Schumer in the Senate and with Donald Trump in the White House."

Minnesota Republican Rep. Pete Stauber said he thinks Trump and Emmer will work "very good together" in the next Congress and is looking forward to supporting the Minnesota congressman in the leadership elections.

"I have all the confidence in him and I will be voting for him again as whip," Stauber said.

"It's been a very small majority and he's been able to bring the different factions together," Malliotakis said. "It's probably a tougher job than he thought when he signed up for it, but he's managed it well. And not only that, even before that, as [National Republican Congressional Committee] chair, he helped deliver the majority for us. So he's been doing a good job being a guide and supportive."

But not everyone was on board with his candidacy, including Trump, who, with his allies, had a hand in sinking Emmer's ascension to speaker.

Greene would not say explicitly if she would support Emmer or the other two leaders heading into the race, nor did she sound enthusiastic about the three choices.

"As far as I know, he's the only person running," Greene said when asked if she plans to back Emmer for whip.

"What I'm satisfied with is the election on Tuesday," Greene said, referring to Election Day, when asked if she was satisfied by the three leadership choices. "I think the mandate is so big from the American people, that honestly, it doesn't matter who's in leadership, they better follow what the American people want."