Speaker of the U S. House of Representatives Definition & Facts

Table Of Content

• Places Near Los Angeles, CA with Audio Speakers
• Democrats and durability
• Donald Trump
• Republicans Elect Mike Johnson as House Speaker, Ending Party Chaos
• Mike Johnson and the troubled history of recent Republican speakers
• Jordan mum on whether he'll launch another speaker bid
• Johnson played a leading role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

WASHINGTON — For days as hard-right lawmakers voted again and again to block him from becoming speaker, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California sat on the House floor with a grin plastered to his face. Even as some lawmakers have grumbled about the revival of earmarking, neither House nor Senate Republicans have issued a binding ban against including them in spending bills. Several Republicans in both chambers joined Democrats in securing earmarks in the roughly $1.7 trillion government funding package that became law last month, with more than 7,200 projects in the bill. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, another Scalise supporter, told reporters after Johnson was elected speaker-designate that he believes Republicans are "back" and the conference's agenda "back on track." Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise on each of the three ballots during House voting last week, said he plans to back Johnson when the lower chamber convenes to elect a new speaker.

Places Near Los Angeles, CA with Audio Speakers

But Majority Leader Steve Scalise has decided not to get actively involved – illustrating how the current top Republican leaders are taking different approaches to the speakership drama, with emotions still raw inside the conference. He told reporters he did not want another vote Wednesday, saying lawmakers have not yet reached a deal. It's not at all clear whether McCarthy and his allies will be able to lock down the votes -- and the longer the fight drags on, the more imperiled his speakership bid has become.

Democrats and durability

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. Hastert played a much less prominent role than other contemporary speakers, being overshadowed by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and President George W. Bush.

Donald Trump

In a secret-ballot vote on Tuesday night, Mr. Johnson got 128 votes, with 44 Republicans voting for nominees not on the ballot, including 43 for Mr. McCarthy, whom many view as unfairly ousted. Still, in a separate vote afterward, only a few Republicans indicated they would not back Mr. Johnson on the floor, while about 20 Republicans were absent. On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson was toiling to help Republicans turn the page from the chaos of the past few weeks. He said there would be none of the typical celebrations that accompany the election of a new speaker.

House Speaker Johnson calls Greene's move to oust him a 'distraction' for Republicans - ABC News

House Speaker Johnson calls Greene's move to oust him a 'distraction' for Republicans.

Posted: Mon, 01 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

That would mean Mr. McCarthy needs just two more in his column, and potentially just one if two or more of his opponents do not vote or vote present. With Republican lawmakers growing irritable after days of fruitless voting, a heated argument broke out between several of them. But Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, a McCarthy ally who is in line to become the next chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, took it to another level when he stepped toward Mr. Gaetz and had to be restrained. Probing “the weaponization of the F.B.I.” as McCarthy just mentioned, was a big priority of the hard-right flank of defectors. Chip Roy of Texas said earlier tonight that the defectors won an assurance that McCarthy would launch a select committee investigating the “weaponization of government” that would receive “the kind of budget and the kind of staffing” that the Jan. 6 select committee received. “I think the House is in a lot better place with some of the work that’s been done to democratize power out of the speakership, and that’s our goal,” he said.

Republicans Elect Mike Johnson as House Speaker, Ending Party Chaos

The elevation of Mr. Johnson, 51, an architect of the effort to overturn the 2020 election and a religious conservative opposed to abortion rights, homosexuality and gay marriage, further cemented the Republican Party’s lurch to the right. It came after a historic fight that began when the hard right ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3, and raged on as the divided House G.O.P. nominated and then quickly discarded three other candidates to succeed him. Additionally, since many speakers held office for multiple terms, often with non-consecutive periods, the time listed for each speaker represents the total length of their time as speaker. It is important to note that the period between the adjournment of one Congress and the convening of the next Congress is not included in the calculations.

House Speaker Johnson defends Israel when Erin Burnett asks about children dying ‘at Israel’s hands’ - CNN

House Speaker Johnson defends Israel when Erin Burnett asks about children dying ‘at Israel’s hands’.

Posted: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:38:00 GMT [source]

Mike Johnson and the troubled history of recent Republican speakers

Still, even if these negotiations prove successful and 10 lawmakers do flip to McCarthy’s column — far from certain — that doesn’t get McCarthy to 218, so he would still have more work to do. Sources said the talks tonight amongst McCarthy allies and holdouts have been the most productive and serious ones to date. In one sign of a breakthrough, a McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open primaries in safe seats — one of the big demands that conservatives had asked for but that McCarthy had resisted up until this point. Rep. Chip Roy told Republican leaders he thinks he can get 10 holdouts to come along if these ongoing negotiations pan out, according to GOP sources familiar with the internal discussions, and that there are additional detractors who may be willing to vote present.

Jordan mum on whether he'll launch another speaker bid

The majority party members and the minority party members meet separately to select their leaders. Third parties rarely have had enough members to elect their own leadership, and independents will generally join one of the larger party organizations to receive committee assignments. A party caucus or conference is the name given to a meeting of or organization of all party members in the House. On the floor of the House, the presiding officer is always addressed as "Mister Speaker" or "Madam Speaker", even if that person is serving as speaker pro tempore. When the House resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole, the speaker designates a member to preside over the committee, who is addressed as "Mister Chairman" or "Madam Chairwoman".

Johnson played a leading role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

In his letter to colleagues, Johnson set out an aggressive time table for passing the bills, but the issue will be finding a way to pass the legislation in just a narrow GOP majority. After three weeks without a speaker, the House voted Wednesday to elect Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Since Gingrich’s tenure, speakers are often criticized as too partisan and too powerful, trampling minority party interests. Other hard-right holdouts who for days have refused to vote for Mr. McCarthy were Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Andy Harris of Maryland. All three met with Mr. Trump or White House officials as they discussed how to fight the election results, according to evidence gathered by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Those compromises delivered a breakthrough for Mr. McCarthy, who in votes on Friday afternoon won support from a sizable chunk of the Republicans who had consistently refused to back him — though he remained short of the majority to win.

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.

Mr. Gaetz, Mr. McCarthy’s chief antagonist, has accused the G.O.P. leader of selling his soul to lobbyists and of pursuing the speakership because of his own vanity. The House is back to the floor for its 14th vote for speaker, and the one that Representative Kevin McCarthy is saying will finally clinch the deal for him. Even before the votes had been secured, many at the bar seemed convinced that electing a speaker was inevitable as the vote drew closer to a close. Pats on the back and smiles were exchanged, and many turned their attention away from the TVs. Still, a large contingent of the crowd hung on, with a mixed but visible reaction to Representative Lauren Boebert, who had been a hard holdout, voting “present.” Some booed, and one yelled “sellout! ” Later on, after some key votes for Mr. McCarthy, applause and cheers filled the bar.

Democratic leaders have indicated they are open to this, and it essentially repeats the strategy that allowed Johnson to pass the Ukraine portion of the aid bill earlier this month. On October 25, 2023, following the ousting of Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, Johnson was elected as the 56th speaker of the House. In 2024, he helped pass a bill meant to provide Ukraine with $60 billion of U.S. aid. Now that House Republicans have chosen Scalise as their speaker nominee, Rep. Patrick McHenry, who has been acting as speaker pro tempore since McCarthy was removed, can bring the vote up on the chamber floor. Jeffries now leads the minority party in the House, succeeding California's Nancy Pelosi, who served as speaker in the prior session of Congress when Democrats held the majority.