The 119th Congress officially begins on Friday, with the House of Representatives facing the crucial task of electing a Speaker. This selection is paramount, as the House cannot proceed with its legislative duties until a Speaker is chosen. The process could be lengthy, as evidenced by recent history, which has seen extended ballots and multiple nominees.
The Constitution dictates that the 119th Congress begins at noon ET on Friday. And the first order of business in the House is to elect the Constitutional officer for the legislative branch of government: Speaker of the House. Only the House votes for Speaker . And the House can’t do anything – I’ll repeat that, anything – until it chooses a Speaker . It can’t swear-in Members until the House taps a Speaker and he or she is sworn-in. The Speaker then swears-in the rest of the body, en masse.
Then the House must adopt a rules package to govern daily operations. Only then can the House go about debating bills, voting and constructing committees for hearings. If the House fails to elect a Speaker on the first ballot, it must proceed to a second ballot. And on and on. Consider for a moment that the House had never even taken a second vote for Speaker in a century before the donnybrook two years ago. It took four ballots to re-elect late House Speaker Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., in 1923. What is past is prologue for the House. Consider how the House consumed 15 rounds spread out over five days before electing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in January, 2023. The Speakership remained vacant – and thus, the House frozen – for 22 days after Republicans dumped McCarthy nine months later. House Republicans then tapped House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., for Speaker. Scalise withdrew his name before there was even a floor vote. House GOPers then tapped Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to become Speaker. But Jordan lost three consecutive votes for Speaker on the House floor, bleeding support on each ballot. House Republicans then anointed House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., for Speaker. Emmer withdrew hours later. House Republicans finally nominated House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for the job. The Louisiana Republican won on the floo
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