At the time of the 118th Congress Convened on January 3rd, one of its first acts was elect the Speaker of the House;
The speaker is a powerful role, standing behind the vice president as the successor to the president should the commander-in-chief become incompetent. But the more prominent power exercised by the Speaker is to manage the agenda and committee assignments that shape legislation in the House of Representatives of Congress.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is set to win the presidency after Republicans elected to keep him as caucus chairman last month as Republicans regained a majority in November’s midterm elections.
However, some Republicans have publicly stated that they do not support having a representative from California serve as chair. Democrats aren’t expected to endorse him, thus risking his shot at the speaker’s gavel.
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The Speaker of the House is the only political office elected by all members of the House of Representatives. Here’s how the election works and what can happen if McCarthy doesn’t meet the voting standards required for the presidency.
What happens before the speaker vote?
Before a new parliament begins, both parties hold a closed-door meeting to elect the next parliamentary leader. This will take place before January 3, the official start of a new term in which all House members will vote for Speaker.
Candidates need only a majority of the votes from their respective political parties to secure the nomination at a closed meeting for leadership.
The party typically votes for a candidate in the House in January, even if colleagues vote against the candidate at a closed-door caucuses, said Matt Glassman, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute of Government Affairs. unite to support
more:Poor GOP results in midterm elections could block Kevin McCarthy’s path to House Speaker
But when the House as a whole votes, only a few votes are against. Candidates from their own party may cost them the speakership.
“It creates a scenario that people will disagree with, and a very small faction could prevent your party from winning the floor,” Glassman said.
How are speaker votes done?
Clerk of the House from the Former Congress Give the gavel at the opening ceremony and preside until one is elected.
The Clerk first calls for a quorum to ensure that a sufficient number of members are present for parliamentary proceedings, and then proceeds immediately to the election of the Speaker, before the newly elected members are sworn in. .
The clerk calls legislators in alphabetical order by last name, and legislators announce the speaker’s selection by calling the candidate’s last name. This differs from the usual electronic balloting that takes place in the House of Representatives on bills.
Speaker candidates are nominated from the floor by party members. There is always one Democratic candidate and one Republican candidate, but the speaker need not be a member of the majority party, or even a member of Congress.
How many votes does it take to be elected chairman?
The magic number is 218.
A candidate needs a vote from a majority of the voting members to become the elected chairman. So if all 435 members were present and voted, the required number of votes would be 218.
However, members of parliament can decide whether to skip the vote or vote to “attend”. This reduces the threshold of votes required to win the chair.Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat and Ohio Republican John Boehner both won the presidency by falling short of 218 votes.
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In the upcoming Congress, all 434 members (one less than 435 due to the recent death of Virginia Representative Donald McKeechin and his successor not yet elected) will be eligible to vote. For example, if McCarthy had his 216 votes, his 212 votes for the Democratic candidate, and his six congressional votes for the other congressmen, 216 votes would not be a majority of his 434 votes needed for the presidency. it won’t work. McCarthy will run out.
However, if these six delegates do not vote for someone else, they will not count towards the total number of votes required. This would lower the threshold to 428, meaning 216 votes would secure McCarthy’s chairmanship.
According to Glassman, this is often used as a tactic by speaker candidates to essentially persuade their colleagues to abstain as a compromise between voting for other candidates and supporting their candidacy.
“It’s certainly a viable strategy,” he said.
What happens if a candidate does not receive a majority of the votes?
If no speaker is obtained on the first ballot, legislators continue to vote until a candidate receives a vote. Many. Members can vote for different candidates on each ballot.
It’s not common to have multiple votes, but it happened.
In 1923, it took multiple votes (nine times) over two months to elect a speaker. Three times before the Civil War he was not elected chairman on the first ballot. In one instance, in two months he needed 133 votes.
As a last resort, Members may adopt resolutions electing the Speaker by Majority or First Choice Vote rather than by Simple Majority.
Glassman said McCarthy needs at least 213 votes. All 212 Democrats in the House are likely to endorse leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Of his nine remaining Republicans who have expressed reservations about supporting McCarthy, California Republicans will need a combination of voting for him or not.
“What is functionally important is that nothing happens in the House until a speaker is elected,” Glassman said, adding that the House can adopt rules, allocate committees, and legislate until a speaker is elected. He added that he could not consider
How do members usually vote?
Legislators traditionally vote for their party’s candidate, but in recent years some have opted to “attend” or not vote.
“It’s kind of modern in the last decade,” says Glassman. “A majority of party members threatened not to vote for their party’s candidate on the floor.”
He cites the current media landscape as one of the reasons mavericks are realizing that by opposing public speaker candidates they can gain attention and appeal to voters away from leadership.
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“It’s a way to stand out,” he said.
The last person to vote for the opposite party was Democratic Rep. Jim Trafficant from Ohio. He voted for the Republican nominee for chairman in 2001 and faced serious consequences. Democrats stripped him of his commission.
How will this play out for McCarthy?
A two-month presidency election is unlikely.
McCarthy won the closed ballot leadership election by a wide margin after running against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a member of the highly conservative Freedom Caucus.
But Biggs hasn’t given up.
He tweeted again earlier in the month when he was running to block McCarthy from becoming chairman.
The January 3rd vote will include all members of the House, not just Republicans.
He believes that if McCarthy doesn’t win on the first ballot (which Glassman predicts is very likely), McCarthy will bargain with his colleagues to get enough votes.
Glassman predicts that Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, who is McCarthy’s second in command, could be elected as an alternative if the opposition stands firm. .
“If these things don’t happen, you’re in real chaos.
