The House of Representatives is governed by many rules and procedures.
The hotly contested election for Speaker of the House in January 2023 gave us a peek into the inner workings of that chamber. It is clear that two components are absolutely key to getting good bills passed and bad bills stopped:
- Rules
- Leadership
Today, I want to highlight leadership . . . specifically the role of the Speaker of the House.
Even though the Speaker is one of the most influential figures in national politics (and second in the line of presidential succession), few voters know how he influences the laws which govern our lives.
Where does the Speaker get his power?
Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution says the House shall choose its Speaker. Current practice is for each party to nominate a candidate for the entire body to vote on. The role of the Speaker is determined by the rules of the House Representatives, revised at the start of each new Congress. Therefore, the Rules Committee is key to determining the powers of the Speaker.
How the Speaker influences which bills pass or die:
- When a member proposes a bill, the Speaker’s power is to choose which committee will discuss that bill. Will it be a favorable committee or an unfavorable one?
- Who sits on those committees? Members of permanent (standing) committees are elected by the House. But the Speaker appoints and removes members to and from select committees and conference committees.
Select committees are created on a temporary basis to deal with certain bills and investigate issues (think of the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack investigation). Conference committees reconcile the differences between a House version and a Senate version of a bill. As you can imagine, whoever sits on these committees has a great deal of power in the legislative process!
- If a bill makes it to the House floor, the Speaker also recognizes members who wish to speak on it and chooses the order in which they will speak. This is influential if the rules of debate only allow a certain number of representatives to speak for and against a measure. The Speaker could deny some members the opportunity to speak by putting them further down in the order.
Other Important Roles
As the House’s most prominent leader, the Speaker talks with the Senate and the president, helping drive collaboration and compromise on legislation.
The Speaker is also the majority party’s leader in the House. His goal is to bring his party together to pass or delay legislation. He must negotiate between the two parties, but also between factions of his own party.
It is interesting to note that Speakers have filled the role in different ways. He can decide whether to be a passive facilitator who concentrates on administering the rules, or an active driver of policy (think of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America”).
Checks on the Speaker’s Power
Over our history, the power of the Speaker has fluctuated.
Did you know that the Speaker used to control which members sat on standing committees (permanent committees for the budget, defense, transportation, etc.)? He also chaired the all-important Committee on Rules, giving him tremendous power. But in 1910, House members staged a revolt—similar to what happened this year—and changed the rules!
Another check is that any one member of the House can request a vote to remove the Speaker. This historic rule was changed in 2019 to require a majority of either party to make the request—rendering it practically impossible. However, the rules of the current Congress give that power back to any single member.
Pray for the Speaker
With a clearer window into the workings of the House, let’s take the opportunity right now to pray for the current Speaker. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) Pray that he will seek God’s wisdom as he carries out all his duties in “The People’s House,” so we can live in a “more perfect Union.”
The Speaker's role is yet another example of how elections affect both the process and policies that influence our lives.
