The speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House of Representatives, and is simultaneously the House's 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. Neither does the speaker regularly participate in floor debates.
The United States presidential line of succession is the order in which officials of the United States federal government assume the powers and duties of the office of president of the United States if the incumbent president becomes incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office. The order of succession specifies that the office passes to the vice president; if the vice presidency is simultaneously vacant, or if the vice president is also incapacitated, the powers and duties of the presidency pass to the speaker of the House of Representatives, president pro tempore of the Senate, and then Cabinet secretaries, depending on eligibility.
Edward Zorinsky was an American politician who served as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate from 1976 until his death in 1987. He represented Nebraska and had previously served as mayor of Omaha, elected as a Republican. He was the first Jew elected to statewide office in Nebraska.
Keith Maurice Ellison is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th Attorney General of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2019. He also served as the titular Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2018. In Congress, Ellison was a vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a Chief Deputy Whip. He also sat on the House Committee on Financial Services. Ellison was the first Muslim to be elected to Congress and the first African American representative from Minnesota.
Sikhism is a religion originating from mediaeval India which was introduced into the United States during the 19th century. In 2007, there were estimated to be between 250,000 and 500,000 Sikhs living in the United States, with the largest populations living on the East and West Coasts, together with additional populations in Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Indianapolis. The United States also has a number of non-Punjabi converts to Sikhism.
The Democratic Party of the United States is composed of various factions, with significant overlap and enough agreement between them to coexist in one party.
Women have served in the United States House of Representatives since the 1917 entrance of Jeannette Rankin from Montana, a member of the Republican Party. 345 women have since served as U.S. Representatives. As of January 3, 2020, there are 122 women in the U.S. House of Representatives, making women 27.2% of the total of U.S. Representatives. Of the 352 women who have served in the House, 231 have been Democrats and 121 have been Republicans. One woman has served in the highest office of the House, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi from California, a member of the Democratic Party.
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 2017, to January 3, 2019, during the final weeks of Barack Obama's presidency and the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States Census.
The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021, during the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency. Senators elected to regular terms in 2014 are finishing their terms in this Congress, and House seats were apportioned based on the 2010 Census.
Rashida Harbi Tlaib is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district since 2019. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the Downriver area. A member of the Democratic Party, Tlaib represented the 6th and 12th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives before her election to Congress.
Elise Marie Stefanik is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New York's 21st congressional district since 2015. The district, the fifth-largest by land area east of the Mississippi River, covers most of the North Country, as well as most of the Adirondacks. It also includes some of the outer suburbs of Utica and the Capital District.
Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative from New Mexico's 1st congressional district since 2019. The district includes most of Albuquerque, along with most of its suburbs. Haaland is a former chairwoman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Along with Sharice Davids, she is one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. Congress. Haaland is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo and a 35th-generation New Mexican. Haaland is a political progressive who supports the movements to abolish ICE and to implement the Green New Deal and Medicare For All.
Sharice Lynnette Davids is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. Representative from Kansas's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes most of the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including cities such as Kansas City, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Leawood, Lenexa, as well as Olathe.
