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.

Other functions

In addition to presiding over the House of Representatives, the Speaker also presides over joint sessions and joint meetings of both houses of Congress. However, the President of the Senate presides over joint sessions of Congress assembled to count electoral votes and declare the results of a presidential election. The distinction arises because the Twelfth Amendment explicitly provides: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates."

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The Speaker is also responsible for overseeing the officers of the House. He or she has the power to appoint the Historian and the General Counsel; moreover, he or she appoints the Inspector General jointly with the Majority and Minority Leaders. Some senior officials of the House—the Clerk, the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Chief Administrative Officer, and the Chaplain—are not appointed by the Speaker, but elected by the House. However, the Speaker holds the power to dismiss any of these officers, with the exception of the Chaplain.

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The Speaker is second in the presidential line of succession, immediately after the Vice President, under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. He or she is followed in the line of succession by the President pro tempore of the Senate and by the heads of federal executive departments. To date, the implementation of the Presidential Succession Act has never been necessary; thus, no Speaker has ever succeeded to the Presidency. Implementation of the law almost became necessary in 1973, after the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew. Many at the time believed that President Richard Nixon would resign due to the Watergate scandal, allowing Speaker Carl Albert to succeed. However, before he resigned, Nixon appointed Gerald Ford to the Vice Presidency in accordance with the Twenty-fifth Amendment.

Related Topics:
Presidential line of succession - Presidential Succession Act of 1947 - 1973 - Spiro Agnew - Richard Nixon - Watergate scandal - Carl Albert - Gerald Ford - Twenty-fifth Amendment

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Finally, the Speaker continues to represent the voters in his or her congressional district. However, as noted above, the Speaker does not normally vote or participate in debate.

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