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The 2025 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election will take place on January 3, 2025, on the opening day of the 119th United States Congress, two months after the 2024 elections for the United States House of Representatives. This will be the 130th speaker of the House of Representatives election since the office was created in 1789.
The speaker is the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives. The House elects its speaker at the beginning of a new Congress (i.e. biennially, after Election Day) or when a speaker dies, resigns, or is removed from the position intra-term. Since 1839, the House has elected speakers by roll call vote. [1] Following a congressional election and the adjournment of the prior congress, there being no speaker, the House clerk summons, convenes, and calls the House to order. After prayer offered by the House chaplain, the clerk leads the representatives in the Pledge of Allegiance before ordering a roll call conducted by the reading clerk. The clerk and its officers then order and oversee the election of a speaker. During these processes, the clerk must "preserve order and decorum and decide all questions of order", which is subject to appeal to the body. [2]
Traditionally, each of the party caucuses and conferences selects a candidate for the speakership from among its senior leaders prior to the roll call. Representatives are not restricted to voting for the candidate nominated by their party but generally do, as the outcome of the election effectively determines which one is the majority party and consequently will organize the House. [3] Without a speaker, members-elect of the House cannot be sworn in. [a] The House is unable to conduct any business other than electing the speaker. [4] [5] Because the rules of the House are adopted for each new Congress, the House will not have rules until the election is complete allowing the members to be sworn in and the House to adopt rules. [6]
Representatives that choose to vote for someone other than their party's nominated candidate usually vote for another member within the party or vote present, which entails abstention. Moreover, as the Constitution does not explicitly state that the speaker must be an incumbent member of the House, it is permissible for representatives to nominate and vote for someone who is not a member of the House at the time, and non-members have been nominated and received a few votes in various speaker elections over the past several years. [7] Nevertheless, every person elected speaker has been a member. [3] Upon winning election, the new speaker is immediately sworn in by the House dean, the chamber's longest-serving member. [8] [9] The new speaker then administers the oath en masse to the rest of the members of the House. [10]
To be elected speaker, a candidate must receive a majority of the current votes cast, as opposed to a majority of the entire membership of the House. There have only been a few instances during the past century where a person received a majority of the votes cast and thus won the election while failing to obtain a majority of the full membership. It had happened most recently in 2023, when Kevin McCarthy was elected with 216 votes (as opposed to 218). Such a variation in the number of votes necessary to win a given election might arise due to vacancies, absentees, or members being present but not voting. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes cast for a person by name, then the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected.
Republicans voted to nominate their Speaker of the House candidate on Wednesday, November 13. [11] On November 12, Politico reported that members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus planned to force an internal secret ballot vote on the speakership of Mike Johnson. Their opposition to Johnson was mostly meant as a way to protest against some proposed rule changes (due to be voted on by the Conference) which would revoke Conference assignments from Republicans who break party lines on procedural votes or introduce a motion to vacate. [12]
Prior to the vote, members of the Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, along with speaker Mike Johnson, reached an agreement: the proposed rule changes on Conference assignments would be withdrawn; in exchange, the holdouts pledged to support a reform of the motion to vacate, which would raise the threshold to introduce it from one member to nine members.
After the deal was struck, Johnson was nominated by voice vote without opposition. [13]
Incumbent House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was re-elected as Leader of the House Democratic Caucus by acclamation without opposition on November 19, 2024. [14]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Johnson* ( LA4 ) | |||
| Democratic | Hakeem Jeffries ( NY8 ) | |||
| Total votes | ||||
| Votes necessary | >50 | |||
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House Speaker, 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.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds and organizes races in districts expected to yield politically notable or close elections. The committee consists of the Chairperson, their staff, and other Democratic members of Congress in various executive roles.
The House Democratic Caucus is a congressional caucus composed of all Democratic representatives in the United States House of Representatives, voting and non-voting, and is responsible for nominating and electing the Democratic Party leadership in the chamber. In its roles as a party conference, the caucus writes and enforces rules of conduct and discipline for its members, approves committee assignments, and serves as the primary forum for development of party policy and legislative priorities. It hosts weekly meetings for these purposes and to communicate the party's message to members.
Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is an American politician and attorney who has served as House Minority Leader and Leader of the House Democratic Caucus since 2023. He has been the U.S. representative for New York's 8th congressional district since 2013 and was a member of the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.
Katherine Marlea Clark is an American lawyer and politician who has served as House Minority Whip since 2023 and the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district since 2013. She previously served as Assistant Speaker from 2021 to 2023 and Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus from 2019 to 2021. Clark was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2008 to 2011 and the Massachusetts Senate from 2011 to 2013.
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are elected every two years in secret balloting of their party caucuses or conferences: the House Democratic Caucus and the House Republican Conference. Depending on which party is in power, one party leader serves as majority leader and the other as minority leader.
Jimmy Gomez is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 34th congressional district since 2017. His district includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, and other communities. A member of the Democratic Party, Gomez served in the California State Assembly from 2012 to 2017.
The 117th United States Congress was a 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, 2021, during the final weeks of Donald Trump's first presidency and the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency and ended on January 3, 2023.
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.
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 Joe Biden's presidency.
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.
A leadership election was held by the United States House of Representatives Democratic Caucus before the beginning of the 116th United States Congress on January 3, 2019. The election determined who will be nominated by the caucus for the speakership election as well as who would occupy other leadership positions within the House Democratic Caucus. The following positions were nominated or elected on November 29: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Majority Leader, House Majority Whip, House Assistant Majority Leader, Democratic Caucus Chair, and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair, the Policy and Communications Committee's Chair and its three Co-Chairs, Junior Caucus Representative and Freshman Class Representative were elected the next day, and a third co-chair was added to the Steering and Policy Committee by the Leader.
Byron Lowell Donalds is an American politician and financial analyst who has served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021, as a member of the Republican Party. His district includes much of Southwest Florida.
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 119th United States Congress will be the next 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 is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2025, to January 3, 2027, beginning its term during the final 17 days of Joe Biden's presidency and the first two years of Donald Trump's second presidency.
At the opening of the 68th United States Congress, the members-elect of the House of Representatives held an election for Speaker of the House on December 3–5, 1923. Republican Frederick H. Gillett received a majority of the votes cast in the 9th ballot and was re-elected speaker. This was the first multiple ballot speaker election since 1859–60, and the last until January 2023.
On October 17, 2023, following the October 3 removal of Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, members of the U.S. House of Representatives began the process of holding an intra-term election for speaker of the House. The election concluded on October 25, 2023 when Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana was elected the 56th speaker of the House on the fourth ballot.
On January 5, 2011, the first convening of the United States House of Representatives during the 112th United States Congress, and two months after the 2010 U.S. House elections, the incoming House members held an election for its speaker. This was 121st speaker election since the office was created in 1789. Since House Republicans had gained the previously-Democrat-held majority in the 2010 elections, Republican House Leader John Boehner unseated Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi as speaker.
Beginning in 2023, during the 118th United States Congress, some members of the House Republican Conference and House Democratic Caucus formed an informal legislative coalition to pass major bills in the United States House of Representatives.
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