Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election, October 2015
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Due to friction within the Republican Party caucus, Boehner decided to step down as speaker and resign his seat in Congress. He scheduled a Republican caucus non-binding vote for speaker on October 8, and a full floor vote on October 29. Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader and second-in-command to the Speaker, was initially viewed as the prohibitive favorite to win the Speakership. However, due to the opposition of the Freedom Caucus, McCarthy dropped out of the race on October 8, and the caucus vote was postponed. Jason Chaffetz and Daniel Webster of the Republican Party and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the Democratic Party remain declared candidates.
Contents
Background
Process and conventions
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the leader of the United States House of Representatives, and is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President and ahead of the President pro tempore of the United States Senate.[1] Though the Constitution does not require that the Speaker be an elected member of the House of Representatives, every Speaker to date has been elected from House membership.[2]The 435 members of the House of Representatives elect a Speaker by majority rule at the beginning of each session of the United States Congress, who serves until the end of the Congress. Typically, the election is a formality, as the majority party's members vote as a bloc for their party's previously-chosen Speaker-designate (such as the speaker, majority leader, or minority leader from the previous term). Open elections are uncommon but have occurred. The last Speaker election to require multiple ballots occurred in 1923.[3]
Speakership and resignation of John Boehner
The Freedom Caucus, a congressional caucus consisting of approximately 40 conservative Republicans affiliated with the Tea Party movement, threatened to initiate a vote to vacate the speakership.[6] The caucus has sought the following promises: (1) the decentralization of the House Steering Committee, so that the Speaker and House Majority Leader are not solely in charge of committee assignments, (2) not supporting an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling without entitlement reform, (3) willingness to impeach John Koskinen, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and (4) passing spending bills approved by the caucus rather than a continuing resolution favored by Democrats in the United States Senate.[7]
To avoid the vacation of his speakership, Boehner announced on September 25, 2015, that he will resign the Speakership and retire from Congress effective October 30. Sources from his office indicated he chose to resign due to the increasing discord within the Republican caucus, including opposition to funding Planned Parenthood, so that he could manage passage of a continuing resolution to fund the government.[8]
Candidates
On September 28, Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Majority Leader, and Webster announced that they would run for Speaker of the House.[9][10] McCarthy was considered the presumptive favorite in the race.[11][12] Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah and the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced his candidacy on October 4, claiming that McCarthy did not have the votes to win the election.[13] Several Republicans urged Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the running mate of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, to run for Speaker, but he declined, saying he is a "policy guy" with a preference to focus on his role as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.[14]
On October 7, the day before the Republican caucus scheduled a non-binding vote for speaker, Ryan and former Vice President Dick Cheney endorsed McCarthy,[17][18] as did 11 of the 13 House Republicans from Pennsylvania.[19] The Freedom Caucus decided to endorse Webster in the race.[20] Other Republicans said they would vote against McCarthy, including Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who called McCarthy "absolutely not an option" because of his previous role as Boehner's "right-hand man".[21] Also Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. of North Carolina had sent a letter to the Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers stating that any candidates for a leadership position with "misdeeds" should withdraw from the race. Jones has stated that his comment did not specifically refer to McCarthy,[22] but it was widely seen as referring to rumors that McCarthy had been committing an extramarital affair with a fellow Representative, a rumor that both have denied; the basis for such an allegation and interpretation is unclear.[23][24][25]
Citing opposition from within the Republican Party, as well as fallout from controversial comments he made about the United States House Select Committee on Benghazi, McCarthy dropped out of the race on October 8.[26][27] Following McCarthy's departure from the race, Republicans renewed their efforts to recruit Ryan as a candidate.[28] Boehner personally called Ryan twice to ask him to run,[29] and Chaffetz said that he would not run against Ryan if he chose to enter the race.[30] Ryan also received calls from Mitt Romney and Trey Gowdy, among others, encouraging him to run for Speaker.[31][32] Additional Ryan endorsements came from Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, 2016 Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise from Louisiana.[33][34][35] On October 9, close aides of Ryan confirmed that Ryan had reconsidered, and was seeking the possibility of a run.[29][36]
Declared
These are the official declared candidates:- Jason Chaffetz, (Republican Party), United States representative for Utah's 3rd congressional district (since 2008), Chairman of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (since 2015).[49][50]
- Nancy Pelosi, (Democratic Party), Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives (since 2011; 2003–2007), United States representative for California's 12th congressional district (since 2013), and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2007–2011).[51][52]
- Daniel Webster, (Republican Party), United States representative for Florida's 10th congressional district (since 2013).[53][54]
Publicly expressed interest
The following potential candidates has expressed interest in running for speaker within the past month:- Bill Flores, (Republican Party), United States representative for Texas's 17th congressional district (since 2011).[55][39]
- Darrell Issa, (Republican Party), United States representative for California's 14th congressional district (since 2003), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee (2011–2015).[56][57]
- Paul Ryan, (Republican Party), United States representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district (since 1999), Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee (since 2015).[29][36]
- Lynn Westmoreland, (Republican Party), United States representative for Georgia's 3rd congressional district (since 2007).[58][59]
-
Representative
Bill Flores
of Texas -
Representative
Darrell Issa
of California -
Representative
Lynn Westmoreland
of Georgia
Potential candidates
The following potential candidates have received speculation in at least two reliable sources within the past month:- Diane Black, (Republican Party), United States representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district (since 2011).[60][61]
- Marsha Blackburn, (Republican Party), United States representative for Tennessee's 7th congressional district (since 2003).[62][63]
- Mike Conaway, (Republican Party), United States representative for Texas's 11th congressional district (since 2005).[39][64]
- Mark Cuban, (Independent), businessman and television personality.[65][66]
- Newt Gingrich, (Republican Party), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1995–1999), House Minority Whip (1989–1995), United States representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district (1979–1999).[67][68]
- John Kline, (Republican Party), United States representative for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district (since 2003), Chairman of the House Education Committee (since 2011).[69][70]
- Peter Roskam, (Republican Party), United States representative for Illinois's 6th congressional district (since 2007).[71][72]
-
Representative
Diane Black
of Tennessee -
Businessman
Marsha Blackburn
of Tennessee -
Representative
Mike Conaway
of Texas -
Businessman
Mark Cuban
of Texas -
Fmr. Speaker
Newt Gingrich
of Georgia -
Representative
John Kline
of Minnesota -
Representative
Peter Roskam
of Illinois
Withdrawn
The following individual did initially run for the position, but withdrew some time later:- Kevin McCarthy (Republican Party), United States representative for California's 23rd congressional district (since 2013), Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives (since 2014). (Withdrew on October 8, 2015).[73][74]
Declined to run
The following noteworthy individuals received some speculation to a possible run, but ultimately ruled themselves out:- Trey Gowdy (Republican Party), United States representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district (since 2011), Chairman of the House Benghazi Committee (since 2014) (Endorsed Paul Ryan).[75]
- Jeb Hensarling (Republican Party), United States representative for Texas's 5th congressional district (since 2003), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services (since 2013).[76]
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Republican Party), United States representative for Washington's 5th congressional district (since 2005), Chairman of the House Republican Conference (since 2013).[77]
- Steve Scalise (Republican Party), United States representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district (since 2008), Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives (since 2014) (Endorsed Paul Ryan).[78][79]
Election
House Republicans planned to hold a non-binding caucus vote on October 8,[80] followed by the official floor vote on October 29. The winning candidate requires a 218-vote majority to win. Multiple ballots may be cast if the majority of the House cannot agree on a candidate.[13][20] While McCarthy and Chaffetz both said they would vote for the winner of the caucus vote in the floor vote, Webster did not make the same promise.[81]Following McCarthy dropping out of the race on October 8, the caucus vote was indefinitely postponed.[82] Peter T. King referred to it as "total confusion — a banana republic."[83] Massie also compared the process to a banana republic as he criticized Boehner for postponing the election, saying they "called off the election because they didn’t like the result," which was echoed by Tom Rice, Louie Gohmert, and Justin Amash. McMorris Rodgers and Conference Vice Chairwoman Lynn Jenkins defended Boehner, saying the matter was handled properly, as conference rules give him sole discretion.[84] Rich Lowry of the National Review asked McCarthy in a phone interview if the House was governable, to which McCarthy replied "I don’t know. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom."[85] Charlie Dent, a Republican from Pennsylvania who had supported McCarthy, suggested if Republicans are unable to agree on a candidate, the best option might be a bipartisan committee that would select a Speaker.[86]
References
- Olsen, Laura (October 8, 2015). "Charlie Dent says bipartisan coalition may pick next U.S. House speaker". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
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