Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

In the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Dennis Hastert, a Republican Congressman from Illinois, who has held office since January 6, 1999.

Notable elections

Historically, there have been several controversial elections to the Speakership, such as the contest of 1839. In that case, even though the House convened on December 2, it could not begin the Speakership election until December 14 because of an election dispute in New Jersey. Two rival delegations—one Whig and another Democratic—had been certified as elected by different branches of the New Jersey government. The problem was compounded because the result of the dispute would determine whether the Whigs or the Democrats held the majority. Neither party agreed to permit a Speakership election with the opposite party's delegation participating. Finally, it was agreed to exclude both delegations from the election; a Speaker was finally chosen on December 17.

Related Topics:
1839 - December 2 - December 14 - New Jersey - December 17

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Another, more prolonged fight occurred in 1855. The two primary candidates were the Republican Nathaniel Prentiss Banks and the Democrat William Aiken. However, there were nineteen other candidates; thus, neither of the main candidates could achieve a majority. The House remained deadlocked for two months, before it adopted a special resolution allowing a speaker to be chosen by a plurality, instead of an absolute majority. Hence, Banks was finally elected on the 133rd vote.

Related Topics:
1855 - Nathaniel Prentiss Banks - William Aiken

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The House found itself in the same dilemma in 1859, again enduring an election that lasted for two months. Throughout, voting was interspersed with speeches by the members, and the Clerk proved unwilling to interfere. On the 54th ballot, the House finally agreed to elect the dark horse candidate William Pennington.

Related Topics:
1859 - Dark horse - William Pennington

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The last Speakership election in which the House had to vote more than once occurred in 1923. Neither the Republican nor the Democratic candidate could muster a majority because many members of the Progressive Party (a minor third party) voted for other candidates. The Republican leadership agreed to a number of procedural reforms and to the appointment of Progressives to certain committees; in return, the Progressives ensured the election of Republican Frederick H. Gillett as Speaker.

Related Topics:
1923 - Progressive Party - Frederick H. Gillett

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One of the most notable recent elections was that of 1999. Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was widely blamed for the poor showing of the Republican Party during the general elections of 1998, declined to seek another term as Speaker and announced his resignation from the House. His expected successor was his fellow, Bob Livingston, who received the nomination of the Republican conference without opposition. However, Livingston (who had been publicly critical of President Bill Clinton's infidelity) abruptly resigned from the House after it was revealed that he had been engaged in an extramarital affair. As a result, Dennis Hastert was chosen to serve as Speaker.

Related Topics:
1999 - Newt Gingrich - 1998 - Bob Livingston - Dennis Hastert

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