The speaker of the United States House of Representatives,commonly known as the speaker of the House,is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I,Section II,of the U.S. Constitution. By custom and House rules,the speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer,de facto leader of the body's majority party,and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these several roles and responsibilities,the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates—that duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party—nor regularly participate in floor debates.
Susan Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren is an American lawyer and politician serving as a U.S. representative from California. A member of the Democratic Party,Lofgren is in her 14th term in Congress,having been first elected in 1994. Lofgren has long served on the House Judiciary Committee,and chaired the House Administration Committee in the 116th and 117th Congresses.
The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The Conference produces a daily publication of political analysis under the title Legislative Digest.
John Andrew Boehner is a retired American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party,he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. The district included several rural and suburban areas near Cincinnati and Dayton.
Kevin Owen McCarthy is a retired American politician who served as the 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January to October 2023. A member of the Republican Party,he was the U.S. Representative for California's 20th congressional district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023.
The clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives,whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House.
The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government,composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington,D.C.,from January 3,2015,to January 3,2017,during the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census.
The Freedom Caucus,also known as the House Freedom Caucus,is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and furthest-right bloc within the chamber. The caucus was formed in January 2015 by a group of conservatives and Tea Party movement members,with the aim of pushing the Republican leadership to the right. Its first chairperson,Jim Jordan,described the caucus as a "smaller,more cohesive,more agile and more active" group of conservative representatives.
James Michael Johnson is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since October 25,2023. A member of the Republican Party,he is in his fourth House term,having represented Louisiana's 4th congressional district since 2017.
On October 29,2015,during the 114th United States Congress,an election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives was necessitated by the impending resignation of John Boehner,set for October 30. Boehner was the first speaker to resign in the middle of a Congressional term since Jim Wright in 1989.
A motion to vacate the chair or motion to declare the chair vacant,commonly shortened to a motion to vacate,is a procedure in which a member of a legislative body proposes that the presiding officer vacates their office.
The 118th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government,composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington,D.C.,on January 3,2023,and will end on January 3,2025,during the final two years of President Joe Biden's initial term.
On January 3,2019,the first day of the 116th United States Congress and two months after the 2018 U.S. House elections,the incoming members of the U.S. House of Representatives held an election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. This was the 126th U.S. speaker election since the office was created in 1789.
Cheryl Lynn Johnson is an American government official who served as the 36th Clerk of the United States House of Representatives from February 26,2019,to June 30,2023. Between January 3,2023,and January 7,2023,Johnson served as the acting presiding officer of the House while the election of a speaker for the 118th United States Congress was deadlocked until Kevin McCarthy was elected after 15 ballots.
On January 3,2021,the 1st day of the 117th Congress and 2 months after the 2020 U.S. House elections,the incoming members of the U.S. House of Representatives held an election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. It was the 127th U.S. speaker election since the office was created in 1789.
At the opening of the 118th United States Congress,the members-elect of the House of Representatives elected in the 2022 midterms held an election for its speaker,marking the 128th speaker election since the office was created in 1789. It began on January 3,2023,and concluded in the early morning hours of January 7 when Kevin McCarthy of California,leader of the House Republican Conference,won a majority of votes cast on the fifteenth ballot. After the longest speaker election since December 1859 –February 1860,McCarthy won the speakership by making concessions to Republican Party hardliners,who had refused to support him through several rounds of voting,finding him too weak and untrustworthy.
The 46th and incumbent U.S. president Joe Biden has seen multiple efforts by some members of the Republican Party to impeach him. An impeachment inquiry into Biden was launched in September 2023,without a vote,by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy,who designated three House committees led by James Comer,chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. A number of prominent Republican lawmakers,along with Donald Trump and some of his political allies,have indicated the motivation behind efforts to impeach Biden is also driven by resentment over Trump's previous two impeachments.
The magic minute,or leadership minute,is a custom in the United States House of Representatives that allows party leaders to speak for as long as they wish,in contrast with other members,who have to adhere to strict time limits. The convention was notably used by Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy in 2018 and 2021,respectively,to speak for records of over eight hours.
On October 3,2023,the United States House of Representatives voted to remove its speaker,Kevin McCarthy of California,through a motion to vacate filed by Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida,a fellow member of McCarthy's Republican Party. McCarthy's removal marked the first time in American history that a speaker of the House was removed through a motion to vacate. The vacancy started a process to elect a speaker that began following an eight-day recess.
Tylease Alli is an American government official who serves as one of two Reading Clerks of the United States House of Representatives. She has held the office since 2021,and has worked on Capitol Hill in various roles as clerk for the House Committee on Education and Workforce from 2003 to 2019 and as Chief Clerk for the House Committee on Education and Labor from 2019 to 2021.
