|
It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.
THE PROBLEM WITH NOT HAVING A SPEAKER
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
The political chaos of the House Republican Conference is now entering a fourth week. For some, the government that does least is the government that does best.
But this has been a Congress doing nothing. Today, writing from a small and old phone booth on Capitol Hill, we thought we’d remind folks of what exactly is frozen so long as the House does not have a speaker. (During the course of crafting this newsletter the third Republican nominee for speaker dropped out of the race.)
Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry is operating under the idea that he only has the power to open and close the chamber and help it proceed to electing a full-time speaker. This is debated, but it is his view and, lawmaker sources tell me, it is supported by the House parliamentarian.
So what does a House without a speaker mean? Right now, the House cannot pass any legislation.
- This means, without a speaker, it cannot fund the government. Reminder: The funding deadline approaches in three weeks.
- It cannot pass legislation funding allies, including Israel and Ukraine.
- It also cannot pass basic, usually unanimous bills, to do things like name post offices or congratulate Americans for individual achievements.
- House members cannot give speeches on the floor, unless they are related to and during the time allotted for a speaker election.
- And the House cannot officially receive bills from the Senate or messages from the President of the United States.
Also, there is a missing step in the presidential line of succession. The appointed speaker pro tem is not in the official presidential succession list. Instead, so long as there is no elected speaker, the line of succession skips over the House, and the Senate President Pro Tem — Democrat Patty Murray of Washington — is next in line after Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some things can continue.
- Committees can still meet, though many are choosing not to hold high-profile hearings now.
- Members can still be briefed on intelligence matters.
But overall, the House is at a functional stop in terms of legislating.
And the longer this goes, the more likely it is that this could affect lives outside of the Capitol. (See also: the possibility of another shutdown).
Of course, things can change. For the latest and greatest on the goings-on, make sure to follow Lisa’s reporting.
|
