Without A Speaker, House Business Remains At A Standstill—Here’s What’s At Stake

Topline

House Republicans’ refusal to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker after multiple rounds of voting on Tuesday has left the lower chamber in a state of paralysis: new members have not been sworn in, committee assignments have yet to be doled out and House rules remain nonexistent, while the stalemate could block some House employees’ paychecks if the GOP can not come to a consensus before January 13.

Key Facts

Without a speaker to oversee the approval of a new House rules package—which could include the establishment of new panels, the process for removing the speaker, the makeup of committees and more—the House generally operates under the rules of the preceding Congress.

If a new House rules package is not adopted before January 13, committee staffers’ paychecks could be withheld in the absence of new committee authorities to process payroll and the student loan forgiveness program for House employees could also come to a standstill, according to a December memo from House administration first obtained by Politico.

For House committees that have not designated new Republican leaders to replace Democrats, including the Ways and Means Committee, the top-ranking Republican who served on the committee during the 117th Congress will serve as interim chair until a new speaker is elected and can formally appoint new committee heads, House administration warned in its memo.

A lack of new committee leadership and rank-and-file assignments could prevent committees from reviewing legislation, moving bills to the House floor for a vote and taking up the various probes the GOP has promised into the Biden Administration.

Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is second in the line of succession for the presidency in the absence of a speaker; Vice President Kamala Harris is first.

Key Background

McCarthy became the first speaker candidate since 1923 to fail to win an election during the first round of voting on Tuesday after a small coalition of right-wing Republicans blocked his victory. The House will reconvene for a fourth round of voting on Wednesday, and McCarthy has said he plans to see the election through, while the Republican holdouts have also expressed plans to hold their ground. The process could presumably drag on indefinitely, but that scenario has never actually happened. In 1856, the House spent two months without a speaker as the race went to 133 rounds of voting.

Surprising Fact

The House changed its rules in 1849 and 1856 to require a plurality vote to elect a new speaker, opposed to the traditional majority rule, after it could not come to a consensus on a new leader. McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday evening he is not considering a rule change, however.

What To Watch For

McCarthy on Tuesday floated the possibility of recruiting GOP members to vote present in an effort to lower the majority threshold for winning from 218 to 213, one more vote than the 212 Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) received from Democrats in the first three rounds on Tuesday. McCarthy would need to flip 11 GOP votes to get from 202 to 213 and convince nine of the GOP holdouts to vote present.

Further Reading

Trump Urges GOP To Unite Behind McCarthy, Avoid ‘Embarrassing Defeat’ Ahead Of Round 4 Of Voting (Forbes)

Kevin McCarthy’s Historic Loss: House Adjourns After He Fails To Win Speaker Vote After 3 Rounds (Forbes)