Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution requires the House of Representatives to elect a speaker. But what purpose does the Speaker of the House of Representatives (“Speaker of the House”) serve? Continue reading to learn more about the parliamentary leader of the House and why this position is getting so much press recently.
Although the Constitution mandates the office, it says very little about how the speaker is elected except that they must be chosen by the members of the House of Representatives. This has left the system for selecting the speaker rather vague. Traditionally, however, the speaker has been chosen by a simple roll-call vote, where the nominee must receive a majority to win the position.
The speaker’s primary duty is to preside over the House. They oversee the chamber’s proceedings, enforce basic rules, and set the schedule for when different legislation will be voted on. The Speaker of the House also sits second, just behind the vice president, in the line of succession.
So, why are you hearing so much about the Speaker of the House in the news?
November’s election saw a shift in power in the House of Representatives, as the Republican party now holds a slim majority. This means that, for the first time since 2019, the Republicans are poised to control the speaker position.
Nonetheless, the party has found itself in a stalemate over who will replace the outgoing Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi. Kevin McCarthy, a Republican who has served as the House Minority Leader for the past four years, is making a bid to fill the role. While McCarthy has the support of the majority of House Republicans and the endorsement of Former President Donald Trump, he remains well short of the 218 vote threshold required to take the position.
Why are members of McCarthy’s own party blocking his bid to become speaker?
McCarthy failed to reach a majority after the House voted 3 times on Tuesday, January 3rd. Each time, his election has been blocked by 19 Republican dissenters who are intent on electing a less moderate speaker. In the most recent vote, Representative Byron Donalds of Florida switched his vote to join the dissenters after voting for McCarthy twice. Donalds justified his decision with his belief that McCarthy has no clear pathway to win the position and that it is in the favor the Republicans to come together around another candidate.
As these events continue to play out, we encourage you to follow news outlets to learn about the latest developments. We hope this snippet helps you to better understand the speakership and what is currently happening in the House of Representatives.
Happy Learning!
The Civicly Team
