A Gay Marriage Bill Might Have Costed GOP Rep. Tom Emmer His Speaker Bid

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was the leading Republican candidate to become the next Speaker of the House on Tuesday, but it was all over before it began because of his previous voting record.

As reported by Business Insider, Emmer dropped out of the race before the day ended, and two GOP members claimed that he wasn't fit for the job because of his previous support for a federal gay marriage bill.

But isn't working together to enact laws and protections that the people want a major part of the speaker role?

Emmer was one of 39 Republicans who voted in favor of the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act. At the time, it was considered a bipartisan effort to get the bill passed into law, but now it seems that effort has come back to haunt Emmer.

On Tuesday, Georgia Rep. Rick Allen told reporters that he was "very concerned" about Emmer's same-sex marriage vote and would not be voting for him. According to a tweet from Punchbowl News, Allen reportedly told Emmer that he needed to "get right with Jesus" because of his vote.

And to no one's surprise, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also spoke out online against Emmer on Tuesday. She reportedly voted against him in every round "because he has a voting record I can't support." That record includes his vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, a vote allowing transgender people to serve in the military and a vote to certify the 2020 presidential election.

With Emmer out, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana has been selected as the latest GOP speaker nominee.

To paint a picture of Johnson, last year he introduced a bill similar to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, but it was never assigned to a committee," Business Insider reports.