Constitution Requires that the 119th Congress begin at noon EST on Friday.
The first matter in the House of Representatives is to elect the constitutional official of the legislative branch of the government: the Speaker of the House.
Only the House of Representatives votes for the Speaker of the House. The House of Representatives cannot do anything — I will repeat that, anything — until it chooses a Speaker.
Members cannot be sworn in until the House of Representatives He clicks on the speaker He takes the oath. Then the Speaker of the House of Representatives takes the oath to the rest of the body members collectively. Then the House of Representatives must adopt a package of rules governing day-to-day operations. Only then can the House of Representatives discuss bills, vote on them, and form committees for hearings.
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If the House fails to elect a President on the first ballot, it must hold a second ballot.
And on and on.
Consider for a moment that the House had never held a second vote for a Speaker in a century before Donnybrook two years ago. It took four ballots to re-elect the late House Speaker Frederick Gillette, Republican of Massachusetts, in 1923.
What the past is Introduction to the House of Representatives. Consider how the House of Representatives spent 15 rounds spread over five days before electing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, in January 2023. The position of Speaker of the House remained vacant – and thus the House was frozen – for 22 days after Republicans ousted McCarthy in nine days. Months later. House Republicans then appointed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Los Angeles, to be Speaker of the House. Scalise withdrew his name before there was a vote. Then, House GOP members chose Rep. Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, to become Speaker of the House. But Jordan lost three consecutive votes for Speaker of the House, losing support on every ballot. House Republicans then appointed House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Republican of Minnesota, to Speaker of the House. Emmer withdrew hours later.
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Finally, House Republicans nominated House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Los Angeles, for this position. The Louisiana Republican won on the ground. But some conservatives have since become disillusioned with Johnson. They pointed to how he handled multiple temporary spending bills from last November onward. They didn't like that he allowed a bill to come to the floor to help Ukraine. They opposed him doing another stopgap spending bill in September. They didn't really like the way he worked with Democrats on major legislation to do. Then there was the blunder of the staggering 1,500-page interim spending package He is Mr. Trump Elon Musk was crushed from afar in December. Johnson then followed through on President-elect Trump's offer of another spending package — which included increasing the debt ceiling. But 38 Republican members of the House of Representatives approved this bill.
So Johnson's tenure was full of bumps. That's why he's in trouble come a Friday afternoon vote for Speaker of the House. Everyone on Capitol Hill is on alert when it comes to ending this matter expeditiously.
This is what will happen on Friday afternoon:
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Acting Clerk of the House Kevin Macomber will preside until the House elects a speaker. The first order of business is “home call.” This is where the House determines how many of its elected members are present, and simply votes “present.” the house It should be around the clock With 434 members: 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats. There should be one vacancy. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned in the fall — and said he had “no intention” of serving in the new Congress, despite winning re-election.
Watch to see if there is an absence in that call for the House. Fox was told that Democrats who have had recent health problems — including Reps. Raúl Grijalva, D-Arizona, and Dwight Evans, D-Pa., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., are likely to be there. But electing the Speaker of the House is all about math. The number of lawmakers who report to the House will determine the margins in the Speaker's vote.
Then comes the role of word filtering. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., will nominate Johnson for Speaker of the House. House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., will nominate House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Everyone else can then put someone's name in the nomination.
Thereafter, the House of Representatives shall call up the alphabetical list of elected members. Each member rises and responds verbally, calling their choice by name. Reps. Alma Adams, D-Ala., Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, and the aforementioned Aguilar are the first names out of the caucus.
(Chip Somodevila/Getty Images)
But lawmakers can vote for anyone they want. This includes people who are not members of the House of Representatives. For this reason, votes have been cast over the years for the late General Colin Powell, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, and former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker.
Here's what Johnson – or anyone else – must do to win the presidency:
The winning candidate must obtain an absolute majority of all members who vote for a named candidate.
Suppose there are 434 members and they all vote for someone by name. The magic number is 218. If Johnson gets the votes of all 219 Republicans, he wins. If Johnson gets 218 votes, he also wins. But 217? No dice. Under the circumstances, Johnson would have beaten Jeffries, 217-215, with two votes going to other candidates. But “most votes” does not win. 217 does not represent an absolute majority of members of the House of Representatives who vote for someone by name. The House of Representatives must hold another ballot to elect a President.
Fox was told that there were between 12 and 17 Republicans who could vote for someone other than Johnson. Some Republicans are cautious about their votes.
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Here's something to watch for: Members who vote “present.”
Rather than vote for someone other than Johnson, some Republicans might protest by simply voting for the “present.” The “current” vote does not count against Johnson.
So let's do some hypothetical math here:
Suppose 434 members cast their votes. Jeffries has support from all 215 Democrats. Three Republicans vote “present.” In other words, do not vote for any candidate by name. Johnson received 216 votes. He has the largest number of votes. But more importantly, only 431 members voted for someone by name. 216 is an absolute majority of 431. 434 does not matter under the circumstances. So Johnson becomes president.
But there is a serious danger that too many Republicans will vote “present.”
Consider this scenario:
All 215 Democrats vote for Jeffries. But five Republicans voted for the “present.” Johnson scores 214 votes. 429 members cast their votes for someone by name. The magic number here is 215. Guess who's speaking? Jefferies. He mustered an absolute majority of all members who voted for the candidate by name.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
As they say in the movies: “You're playing a very dangerous game, Mr. Bond.”
With such a slim margin in the House, Republicans Quite tinkering With fire if they get too nice by half. Yes. Some conservatives may not want Johnson to be re-elected as Speaker of the House. But they certainly don't want Jeffries.
So it's hard to say what will happen on Friday afternoon. If the House hesitates for too long, it could delay the certification of the Electoral College vote on Monday. The House of Representatives and the Senate must meet in a joint session of Congress on January 6 to certify the election results. There is no Speaker of the House of Representatives? No joint session
But something else is likely to unfold if this continues. Johnson loyalists and mainstream Republicans have taken it on with right-wing ideologues, the Freedom Caucus and other independents. Expect a full-blown brawl between these two factions if Republicans have difficulty electing a Speaker of the House.
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As we wrote previously, the above is an introduction.
The protracted battle over the presidency is a prelude to the fierce battles looming among Republicans when it comes to governing. This is not to mention the implementation of one item on President-elect Trump's agenda.
