For newcomers:
The House must pick a speaker before swearing in new members or approving session rules. Nothing happens until they elect a speaker. The House votes until someone wins if McCarthy loses the first vote, which is now certain.
Speaker of the House candidates must win a majority of chamber votes.
The Speaker of the House has always been a House member, although it is not a constitutional necessity.
This has never happened before. If the House GOP stays stuck on the speaker vote, a non-House member might become speaker or House Democrats and moderate Republicans could pick a unity speaker. (Though McCarthy regaining the speakership on a subsequent vote seems expected at this stage.)
Watch today at 12:00 ET. Streaming links:
www.c-span.org
The House must pick a speaker before swearing in new members or approving session rules. Nothing happens until they elect a speaker. The House votes until someone wins if McCarthy loses the first vote, which is now certain.
Speaker of the House candidates must win a majority of chamber votes.
The Speaker of the House has always been a House member, although it is not a constitutional necessity.
This has never happened before. If the House GOP stays stuck on the speaker vote, a non-House member might become speaker or House Democrats and moderate Republicans could pick a unity speaker. (Though McCarthy regaining the speakership on a subsequent vote seems expected at this stage.)
Watch today at 12:00 ET. Streaming links:
House Adjourns Without Electing a Speaker
As the new 118th Congress began, the House of Representatives for the first time since 1923 failed to elect a speaker on the first vote. Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed on three votes to get the majority 218 votes needed to become speaker. The House then adjourned until the...
www.c-span.org
