Tom Emmer drops out of speaker's race, hours after being nominated

House Republicans are once again scrambling for a path forward after Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer dropped his bid for speaker just hours after winning his party's nomination.

The swift exit from the race is the latest sign that Republicans are still no closer to electing a new speaker three weeks after Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster.

House Republicans are now gearing up to hold another GOP speaker candidate forum at 6 p.m. ET, multiple members told CNN. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, told reporters, "We're gonna do it again," and said that he believes they will try to vote to pick a new nominee right after the forum.

The House remains in a state of paralysis, and Republicans remain unable to govern as the conference has repeatedly failed to coalesce around a successor to McCarthy amid deep division within the ranks. The politically precarious situation has plunged the House into uncharted territory as it looks increasingly unclear whether any Republican can get the 217 votes needed to win the gavel.

Emmer is now the third Republican to win the nomination of the GOP conference only to then exit the race after failing to lock up the necessary votes to win the gavel.

Earlier in the day, Emmer's bid to be speaker appeared on the verge of collapse amid opposition from the right flank of his conference and fresh attacks waged by former President Donald Trump. Emmer could only afford to lose four Republicans in a floor vote, and 26 voted against him behind closed doors, an ominous sign for his speaker's bid.

Emmer voted to certify the 2020 election, voted to keep the government open for 47 days, voted for the bipartisan law to avoid a debt default and voted to codify same-sex marriage - all issues that members of the hard-right had cited as issues for his candidacy.