The House Is Voting for Speaker; Johnson Looks Likely to Lose

Chip Roy refused to vote for Johnson, Andy Biggs didn't vote, and Thomas Massie voted for Tom Emmer.

Update: Another Republican has voted against Johnson, instead voting for Jim Jordan.

I think that's it. I don't think we can lose four votes, and we lost them.

Update: It's worse than that -- the Republican majority is so thin we can only lose one single Representative's vote.

According to Nick Sortor, I'm right, the Republicans cannot agree on a Speaker. Johnson loses and there is no other known candidate who can win.

I'm not sure what happens if they don't elect a Speaker. I assume there will be further balloting, but if the Perpetual No Caucus keeps voting "no," then there is no Speaker, Congress can't act, and Congress can't certify Trump and Vance's victory.

Update: Thanks to TheJamesMadison, this article claims it's not true that Congress can't act -- or certify the president -- in the absence of a Speaker.

It says someone can take over as acting speaker.

As potentially extended battles to elect new speakers of the House of Representatives become more frequent, a common fear is repeatedly expressed in the national news media that the chamber cannot act until the new speaker is chosen. An Oct. 4, 2023, headline in the Washington Post, for example, succinctly captured the fear, proclaiming "The House Can't Function Without a Speaker." More recently, a USA Today news report on Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) prospects for keeping the gavel in the 119th Congress included the declaration that "members can't tackle any other business until someone is chosen."

The lower chamber in the 119th Congress can function without a speaker and has done so as recently as October 2023, when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was removed by conservative rebels led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) presided over the House as acting speaker while the House Republican Conference struggled before finally settling on Johnson to replace McCarthy.

The House convened at noon today for the first meeting of the new Legislature. The election of a speaker, the swearing-in of members, and the adoption of rules under which the chamber will operate are the first orders of business.

Fears that Johnson may be unable to keep the gavel are justified, thanks to the narrow Republican majority of 219--215. If all 435 members are present and voting, Johnson cannot afford to lose more than one vote.

But here's the thing: If Trump is only certified under an "acting speaker," the left will go back insisting he is an Illegitimate Usurper and it's 2016 #ResistanceReborn again.

Can we just not fuck around to grandstand for once?

posted by Ace at 02:25 PM

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