The House of Representatives is a branch of the United States Congress and will start the election of a new Speaker tomorrow.
The House of Representatives needs to vote for a new Speaker after Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted following infighting within the party. But how is a House Speaker elected? Never before in the House’s history was a Speaker removed from office, making this question especially relevant.
Following the vote, Republican Patrick McHenry was sworn in as acting Speaker. His job was solely to guide the divided Congress chamber until the election of a new Speaker, which is set to start tomorrow.
What does a Speaker do and how is he elected?
According to the House rules, the Speaker is a presiding officer who maintains order and manages the proceedings of the Congress chamber. In practice, the Speaker sets the House’s agenda and presides over the votes for new legislative measures.
Normally, the House Speaker is a neutral role. Ordinarily, he has the right to cast a vote only as a tie-breaker or in matters of great Constitutional importance. The Speaker can, however, take part in debates.
According to the House procedures, each party officially nominates a candidate for Speaker immediately prior to the vote. In practice, of course, the candidate selection takes place behind closed doors in the weeks and days before the vote.
After the nominations are presented, each House member casts his vote viva voce , meaning he or she states aloud the name of a candidate. House members can also shout “ present ” to signify their abstention.
The election of the Speaker can be conducted only in the presence of a quorum, meaning a simple majority of 219 House members must be present. Then, the candidate with a numerical majority of votes is elected to become the new Speaker.
Can a member of the opposition party become Speaker?
Crucially, House members are not forced to cast a vote for one of the two candidates presented by both parties. Any individual can technically become Speaker, no matter which party holds the majority.
This means that even though the current House of Representatives has a Republican majority, a Democratic member could technically become the new Speaker. Moreover, this is also why former president Donald Trump is eyed by some radical House Republicans as their candidate of choice. Trump said he will not accept the job.
Although extremely unlikely, a Democratic candidate might have a slight chance of success. The Republican majority in the House is very slim, by 9 votes, and no qualified majority is needed for the Speaker election.
And given the deep internal divisions of the Republican party, the same divisions that led to McCarthy being ousted, the election of a Democratic member is not a completely far-fetched possibility.
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