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John Boehner was elected speaker when the 112th Congress convened on January 5, 2011, and was subsequently re-elected twice, at the start of the 113th and 114th Congresses. Rayburn's successor, Democrat John W. McCormack (served 1962–1971), was a somewhat less influential speaker, particularly because of dissent from younger members of the Democratic Party. During the mid-1970s, the power of the speakership once again grew under Democrat Carl Albert.
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Hastert played a much less prominent role than other contemporary speakers, being overshadowed by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and President George W. Bush. Elected by a simple majority of House members, speakers are the chamber’s leader, presiding officer and administrative head. They appoint members to committees, recognize people to speak during debates and decide which bills get brought to the floor. On the other hand, when the speaker and the president belong to opposite parties, the public role and influence of the speaker tend to increase. As the highest-ranking member of the opposition party (and de facto leader of the opposition), the speaker is normally the chief public opponent of the president's agenda. In this scenario, the speaker is known for undercutting the president's agenda by blocking measures by the minority party or rejecting bills by the Senate.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
5 things to know on Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House - NBC News
5 things to know on Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House.
Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Perhaps most clearly indicating the importance of the position, the Speaker of the House stands second only to the Vice President of the United States in the line of presidential succession. The Speaker’s role within the House has also seen significant changes since 1789. Under the guidelines of Jefferson’s manual, which serves as a foundation for the House’s rules, the Speaker originally didn’t talk on the House floor during debates and only spoke when conducting parliamentary manners. The Speaker also is second in line (after the vice president) to the presidency under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, and the Speaker plays a role in the 25th Amendment’s process of dealing with the event of a presidential disability. That last duty is why, until a new speaker is elected, Congress will be unable to take action on important end-of-year items, including passing a federal budget. While legislators were able to reach a deal on a temporary funding measure — the reason behind former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster — they must pass another before Nov. 17.
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As required by the Constitution, the Speaker is elected by a roll call vote held on the first day of every new session of Congress, which begins in January following the November midterm election that's held every two years. In these positions, the Speaker plays a key role as negotiator between the House and president and with the Senate, and as the point person for the House’s fundamental role in originating and passing legislation and controlling “the power of the purse” to tax and spend taxpayer money. In the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party regained control of the House of Representatives. Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
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The speakership reached its apogee during the term of Republican Joseph Gurney Cannon (1903–1911). He determined the agenda of the House, appointed the members of all committees, chose committee chairmen, headed the Rules Committee, and determined which committee heard each bill. He vigorously used his powers to ensure that Republican proposals were passed by the House. The Speaker is usually selected during party meetings before a new Congress meets, and the House confirms the selection by individual voice votes. Until January 2023, there had not been a Speaker election contested on the House floor since 1923.
The Republicans retained their majorities in the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections. The first politically powerful Speaker, Henry Clay of Kentucky, served between 1810 and 1824. Unlike his predecessors, Clay took part in several heated debates and was influential in winning the passage of legislation he supported, such as the declaration of the War of 1812. When none of the candidates in the controversial presidential election of 1824 received an Electoral College vote, majority, leaving the selection of the president up to the House, Speaker Clay supported John Quincy Adams instead of Andrew Jackson, ensuring Adams’ victory. Today, the Speaker of the House serves in several major constitutional roles. The Speaker is the majority political party leader in the House, which on its own is one of the most powerful jobs in Washington.
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While it is not required, the Speaker usually belongs to the majority political party. Also, the Speaker didn’t get a clear right to vote on all House matters until 1850. The House had changed its rules in 2019 to require a majority of its representatives to move to motion to vacate to the floor, but the traditional motion of vacate was added back in January 2023 during the contentious voting over the Speaker’s position. One of the most influential speakers in history was Democrat Sam Rayburn.[48] Rayburn had the most cumulative time as speaker in history, holding office from 1940 to 1947, 1949 to 1953, and 1955 to 1961.
The speaker is also third in line to the presidency (after the vice president) and plays a role in the 25th Amendment process of dealing with a presidential incapacitation. From 1977 to 1995, three successive Democratic speakers – Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, Jim Wright and Tom Foley – reinvigorated the speakership. They enlarged the party leadership structure, creating wider networks of loyalty among members of the majority party while strengthening support for their priorities. During the republic’s early years, the speakership gradually gained power.
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From early in its existence, the speaker's primary function had been to keep order and enforce rules. Furthermore, when no candidate received an Electoral College majority in the 1824 presidential election, causing the president to be elected by the House, Speaker Clay threw his support to John Quincy Adams instead of Andrew Jackson, thereby ensuring Adams' victory. Following Clay's retirement in 1825, the power of the speakership once again began to decline, despite speakership elections becoming increasingly bitter. As the Civil War approached, several sectional factions nominated their own candidates, often making it difficult for any candidate to attain a majority. In 1855 and again in 1859, for example, the contest for speaker lasted for two months before the House achieved a result.
Toward the end of the 19th century, the office of speaker began to develop into a very powerful one. At the time, one of the most important sources of the speaker's power was his position as Chairman of the Committee on Rules, which, after the reorganization of the committee system in 1880, became one of the most powerful standing committees of the House. Furthermore, several speakers became leading figures in their political parties; examples include Democrats Samuel J. Randall, John Griffin Carlisle, and Charles F. Crisp, and Republicans James G. Blaine, Thomas Brackett Reed, and Joseph Gurney Cannon.
The Committee on Rules ceased to be a semi-independent panel, as it had been since 1910. Moreover, in 1975, the speaker was granted the authority to appoint a majority of the members of the Rules Committee. Meanwhile, the power of committee chairmen was curtailed, further increasing the relative influence of the speaker.
The speaker is responsible for maintaining decorum in the House and may order the Sergeant-at-Arms to enforce House rules. Historically, there have been several controversial elections to the speakership, such as the contest of 1839. In that case, even though the 26th United States Congress convened on December 2, the House could not begin the speakership election until December 14 because of an election dispute in New Jersey known as the "Broad Seal War". Two rival delegations, one Whig and the other Democrat, had been certified as elected by different branches of the New Jersey government.
The roles of the parties reversed in 1994 when, after spending forty years in the minority, the Republicans regained control of the House with the "Contract with America", an idea spearheaded by Minority Whip Newt Gingrich. Speaker Gingrich would regularly clash with Democratic President Bill Clinton, leading to the United States federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996, in which Clinton was largely seen to have prevailed. Gingrich's hold on the leadership was weakened significantly by that and several other controversies, and he faced a caucus revolt in 1997. After the Republicans lost House seats in 1998 (although retaining a majority) he did not stand for a third term as speaker. His successor, Dennis Hastert, had been chosen as a compromise candidate since the other Republicans in the leadership were more controversial.
Such a motion to vacate had only been subject to a floor vote once in the House’s history. On two other occasions, lawmakers considered a motion to vacate, but the vote never made it to the House floor. The current controversy over the Speaker of the House of Representatives has highlighted that position’s role as one of the most important elected officials in Washington. But little was spelled out in the Constitution about the position and how the House selected the Speaker. Albert's successor, Democrat Tip O'Neill, was a prominent speaker because of his public opposition to the policies of President Ronald Reagan. O'Neill is the longest continuously serving speaker, from 1977 through 1987.
The power of the speaker was greatly augmented during the tenure of the Republican Thomas Brackett Reed (1889–1891, 1895–1899). Reed, however, declared that members who were in the chamber but refused to vote would still count for the purposes of determining a quorum. Through these and other rulings, Reed ensured that the Democrats could not block the Republican agenda.
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