Once a party leader is selected, however, the Members are generally expected to vote for the leader in the vote for the Speakership in the following January. When the House convenes on the first day of a new Congress, it must first establish that there are enough Members-elect to achieve a quorum, the constitutionally mandated minimum number that must be present to conduct business.
The second item of business—even before Members are sworn in—is the election of a Speaker. Until a Speaker is elected, the Clerk from the previous Congress presides over the House. The Clerk then asks for any other nominations to be brought forward. Then the Clerk appoints tellers from among the Members-elect to record the votes, and the voting begins.
Each Member-elect has the opportunity to vote when the Clerk calls his or her name. Typically, the Member-elect responds by calling out the last name of the person they wish to be Speaker. Or they could decline to respond at all, in which case they would be considered not voting.
The forgoing is a description of what usually occurs at the beginning of a Congress. Extraordinary circumstances may vary these proceedings. Follow Ballotpedia. Click here to follow election results! The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer elected by the members of the U. The Constitution does not require that the speaker be an elected member of Congress , but no non-member has ever been elected to the office.
When a Congress convenes for the first time, each major party conference or caucus nominates a candidate for Speaker. Members customarily elect the Speaker by roll call vote. A member usually votes for the candidate from his or her own party conference or caucus but can vote for anyone, whether that person has been nominated or not. To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes cast—which may be less than a majority of the full House because of vacancies, absentee members, or members who vote "present.
The Speaker performs a number of functions, including: [2]. Speaker Pelosi is the 52nd individual to serve as Speaker of the House. In total, 54 Representatives have served as Speaker. For further information, see the Speakers of the House Resources. Featured Search Historical Highlights of the House. Learn about Foreign Leader Addresses. Working in partnership with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi led House passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in early to create and save millions of American jobs, provide relief for American families, and provide a tax cut to 95 percent of working Americans.
With the House Democratic Caucus, Pelosi continues to focus on the need to create jobs in America and prevent them from being shipped overseas. Speaker Pelosi was the architect of the landmark Affordable Care Act which has guaranteed protections for all Americans with pre-existing medical conditions, ended annual and lifetime limits on health coverage, and provided affordable health coverage for tens of millions more Americans while lowering health care costs over the long term.
Additional key legislation passed into law included the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to restore the ability of women and all workers to access our judicial system to fight pay discrimination; legislation to provide health care for 11 million American children; national service legislation; and hate crimes legislation.
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