With Mike Johnson’s nomination as the speaker of the House at risk, many wondered who the speaker would be if he didn’t get elected. The speaker is a member of the presidential line of succession, so the person who holds the position has the potential to change the course of the nation. Below, we’ll look at who can become speaker and what the Constitution has to say about the role.
The speaker of the House can be anyone
The United States Constitution established the position of speaker of the House in Article I, Section II. While rules surrounding the speaker and their duties have been adopted, the Constitution has little to say about the role. Only half a sentence is dedicated to it:
“The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers…”
The method of electing a speaker wasn’t set by the Constitution, and it wasn’t until 1839 that the current method, a roll-call vote, was decided. Since then, at the beginning of each Congress, a candidate has been chosen to fill the role. They have to receive a majority vote to be elected. If they don’t reach a majority, the roll call is repeated until a speaker is chosen.
Mike Johnson was elected speaker of the House today, but that didn’t have to be the case. There are no rules about who can be speaker of the House. It doesn’t have to be a member of the majority party or even a member of Congress (although every speaker has been). So, if Johnson hadn’t won the vote, anyone could have been nominated and elected. Even someone who isn’t a U.S. citizen could fill the position if they somehow defied the odds and gained the votes to do so.
However, traditionally, the speaker of the House has always been a member of the majority party. The votes are typically cast along party lines, which can cause potential issues. When the House is almost evenly split as it is now, a few dissenters can block a nominee from being elected, as we nearly saw today.
