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

Table Of Content

• Find my Representative
• Calmes: Hapless House Republicans weaponized impeachment. It backfired
• House conservatives signal they'll give Johnson more runway on spending bills
• ‘How the hell does that even happen?’ McCarthy exits Congress amid confusion over who can run to replace him
• After scandal, movie producer Randall Emmett is flying under the radar with a new name

The No. 3, McCarthy, soon ran aground over remarks in a TV interview and lacked the votes to be speaker. The party settled on Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who had not sought the gavel but agreed to take it. The 30-year saga began with Gingrich of Georgia, who was the first member of his party to gain "the big gavel" since the early 1950s and the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Gingrich had been a backbench rabble-rouser since coming to the House in 1978 and built up a cadre of supporters until he won the party's No. 2 power position as minority whip in 1989. He soon eclipsed the party's leader, Robert Michel, who was nearing retirement. Just such a "motion to vacate the chair" was filed against Johnson in March by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

Find my Representative

For more than two decades, the majority complied, but in the past year Republican rebels have killed seven of their leadership’s rules, blocking the bills and humiliating first McCarthy and then Johnson. Their paper-thin House majority is so riven — antigovernment hardliners squaring off against more moderate legislators, isolationist America Firsters versus Reaganesque internationalists — that it was dysfunctional from its start, in January 2023. It took Republicans an unprecedented 15 votes to elect a speaker, and 10 months later they ousted that leader and finally settled on the novice Johnson. If Democrats are unable to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges.

Calmes: Hapless House Republicans weaponized impeachment. It backfired

Since then, Stefanik has led the charge among Republicans, pushing for the resignation of the university leaders. The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard have already resigned. And last week, Columbia's president became the latest to testify before Congress.

House conservatives signal they'll give Johnson more runway on spending bills

Johnson’s remarks were attacked by Justice Democrats, a progressive group that has been sharply critical of Israel’s conduct of the war. The lawmakers’ pleas were not as forceful as Republicans’, who left no room for distinction between those targeting Jewish students and those peacefully protesting the Israel-Gaza war. But the Democrats were adamant about the need to protect students with backgrounds like theirs.

McCarthy has not thought about resigning after losing speakership vote

The challenge for House Republicans is they still have eight more spending bills to pass including two that have been stuck in committee because of disagreements within GOP ranks. 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. In a letter to colleagues earlier Wednesday, Johnson outlined his first priority will be trying to pass the remaining spending bills that have so far languished in the House one by one. Republicans have now spurned all three of their top leaders over the past few weeks. The chamber has been frozen for the better part of a month as Republicans feud over who should be in charge, even as wars rage overseas and a government shutdown approaches. 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.

‘How the hell does that even happen?’ McCarthy exits Congress amid confusion over who can run to replace him

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. For instance, Nathaniel Macon served as speaker during both the 8th and 9th Congresses, but the eight-month gap between the two Congresses is not included in his service duration. The exact dates of service for each individual speaker is shown in the Term of service column of the above table.

LACMA has been promised a John Lautner-designed sublime hilltop home

President Joe Biden spoke with newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson to congratulate him on his win, the White House said. Mr. Emmer had attempted to mollify Mr. Trump by calling him over the weekend and praising him, according to the former president. A majority of those opposed to Mr. Emmer were members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and loyal to Mr. Trump. The glimmer of consensus came only hours after Mr. Emmer’s abrupt exit made him the third Republican this month to be chosen to lead the party, only to have his bid collapse in a seemingly endless cycle of G.O.P. grievances, personality conflicts and ideological rifts. He said that millions of unborn children had lost their lives because of what he called a “legal fiction that the Supreme Court foisted upon this country” and said that “God will bless us” for the court’s decision. Mr. Johnson came to Congress in 2017 with support from the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, though he has never joined the group.

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. While Republicans are celebrating finally electing a speaker, across the Capitol, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, chimes in with a reminder of the impending mid-November government shutdown looming unless Congress can pass legislation to keep it funded. “I look forward to meeting with Speaker Johnson soon to discuss the path forward to avoid a government shutdown,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement.

House expected to vote on resolution in support of Israel Wednesday afternoon

How Mike Johnson Is Taming Trump and His Party — Against All Odds - POLITICO

How Mike Johnson Is Taming Trump and His Party — Against All Odds.

Posted: Tue, 23 Apr 2024 18:03:07 GMT [source]

The members who ousted McCarthy also told reporters that they have no regrets now about ousting McCarthy. “I have never been comfortable with CRs (continuing resolutions), but it … is going to be difficult for Mike and anyone who steps into that job, but I think he is going to do a great job,” Rep. Eli Crane, a Republican, told CNN. This marks a clear departure from how those same members viewed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision earlier this month to put a short-term spending bill on the floor, which ultimately led to his ouster. Only hours later, Mr. Emmer told Republicans in a closed-door meeting that he was dropping his bid, according to a person familiar with his decision who divulged the private discussion on the condition of anonymity. To show support for racial equality, Mr. Johnson in the past has told audiences that he and his wife adopted a Black teenager they met through an evangelical youth group — like the movie “The Blind Side” but without the N.F.L. prospects, he has quipped.

Republican Reveals Possible GOP Plan to Allow Democratic House Speaker - Newsweek

Republican Reveals Possible GOP Plan to Allow Democratic House Speaker.

Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 14:22:36 GMT [source]

Gingrich managed to restore many of the powers of the speakership but clashed repeatedly with Clinton and even with Republican leaders in the Senate. In 1997, in his second Congress as speaker, he barely survived a largely covert challenge from within his own leadership team. And just shy of his fourth anniversary in the job, he was voted out by the full House Republican conference in December 1998. In the weeks after an election, the Republican conference and the Democratic caucus hold an informal vote among their members to decide whom they want to nominate to lead their party in January.

Johnson now faces a daunting list of challenges, with a fast-approaching government shutdown chief among them. The House is staring down a deadline of Nov. 17, when current government funding expires. In his blueprint for the next few months, Johnson said a stopgap measure extending funding until January or April may be needed to approve more spending and avoid a shutdown. The relationship fissured after Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters attacked the Capitol stoked by lies of a stolen election, and Mr. McCarthy delivered a speech on the House floor condemning Mr. Trump’s role.

Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, had declined yet again to vote for Representative Kevin McCarthy of California on a 14th ballot, helping sink McCarthy’s chances at speaker that round. Congratulations to @GOPLeader on his election as the Speaker of 🇺🇸 House of Representatives. U.S. support in all fields has been vital for 🇺🇦’s success on the battlefield. We’re counting on your continued support and further U.S. assistance to bring our common victory closer. This is the first time Hal Rogers of Kentucky swears in the speaker, following the death of Don Young of Alaska in 2022. After days of a bare stone wall, the Speaker McCarthy sign has been hung outside the office.