Thomas Earl Emmer Jr.[1] (born March 3, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who has served as majority whip in the United States House of Representatives since 2023.

He withdrew himself from the race shortly after former president Donald Trump voiced his opposition, calling him "totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters" and a "Globalist RINO".

He attended St. Thomas Academy, an all-male, Catholic, military, college-preparatory high school in Mendota Heights, near Saint Paul.

District 19B included portions of Wright and Hennepin Counties and the cities of Otsego, Albertville, St. Michael, Rockford, Delano, Montrose, and Waverly.

[23] Minnesota-based Target Corporation donated $150,000 to Minnesota Forward, a new political action committee paying for advertising that supported Emmer's gubernatorial election.

[28] Emmer was a registered lobbyist in Minnesota,[29] and co-hosted a morning talk radio program with Bob Davis on KTLK in Minneapolis.

In early 2011, he ran for an open Minnesota seat on the Republican National Committee, but lost that election to Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson.

[34][35] On April 12 he received the Republican Party endorsement for the nomination on the first ballot with 76%, but he still faced a primary challenge from his two competitors, Anoka County Board Chairwoman Rhonda Sivarajah and former state representative Phil Krinkie.

According to the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, Emmer held a Bipartisan Index Score of -0.0 in the 116th United States Congress for 2019, which placed him 192nd out of 435 members.

[43] On May 19, 2021, Emmer and the other seven Republican House leaders voted against establishing a national commission to investigate the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol Complex.

[44][45] In August 2021, Emmer released a statement about the resignation of Minnesota Republican Party chair Jennifer Carnahan after her ties with donor, strategist, and convicted sex trafficker Anton Lazzaro became a national news story.

He won what was reportedly the conference's closest race, beating Drew Ferguson on the first ballot and Jim Banks on the second by a 115–106 vote.

"[53] On October 24, the Republican conference nominated Emmer for the speaker candidateship, but he dropped out the same day following opposition from hardliners and former president Donald Trump.

[66] During an October 9, 2010, televised debate, Emmer said he would oppose legislation to combat school bullying against gay and lesbian young people.

Emmer, who voted against anti-bullying legislation as a state lawmaker, said that teachers are most responsible for halting bullies, but suggested that the threat of lawsuits keeps them from doing so.

[73] Emmer and Representative Pete Stauber both stood beside Assistant Secretary of the Interior Joseph Balash as he signed leases permitting Twin Metals to explore a large area of national forest land nine miles southeast of Ely for copper-nickel reserves on May 15, 2019.

[77] In June 2023, Emmer cosponsored the SEC Stabilization Act, which would effectively fire U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler.

It was introduced a week after the SEC sued Coinbase and Binance, claiming they failed to register as a national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.

[80] In 2009, Emmer sponsored a bill that would shorten the period of license revocation for driving under the influence and for refusing to take a field sobriety test.

[86] In an October 2022 CBS News television interview, Emmer was challenged for posting a video on Twitter that showed him firing a fully automatic machine gun with the caption "#FIREPELOSI".

[87] As chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Emmer led 2022 election efforts to win a majority and replace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

After supporting the March 2017 version of the American Health Care Act (a bill to repeal the ACA), he voted for it on May 4, 2017, before it had been scored by the Congressional Budget Office to determine its economic impact.

[88] Emmer supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to temporarily curtail immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries until better screening methods are devised, saying, "Everybody needs to take a deep breath.

"[93] In March 2007, Emmer introduced HF 1847, an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution "recognizing as marriage or its legal equivalent only a union between one man and one woman.

[98] In December 2020, Emmer was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump.

[99] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

"[103][104] When former president Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, Emmer said, "Democrats just pulled off the biggest sham in U.S.

His response was "Yes... if you didn't have a minimum wage law", adding, "somebody could be taking home well over one hundred thousand dollars as a server" while the restaurant owner could be making much less.

[110][111] One week after that press conference, Emmer announced a proposal that would exempt the first $20,000 a server makes in tips from state taxes.

[113] On November 8, 2023, Emmer joined 100 other Republicans voting in favor of an amendment to a large appropriations bill that would prohibit funding for the Office of Vice President Kamala Harris.