Majority or Plurality?

The 118th Congress begins today.  It brings with it a leadership fight that will determine who controls the speaker’s gavel.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy has the support of a majority of Republicans to be the GOP leader, but has been unable to garner enough votes to become House speaker.

 

What’s McCarthy's problem?  A handful of conservative lawmakers and MAGA-adherents, among them folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Louis Gohmert, have not yet been convinced that McCarthy will adequately stand up for Donald Trump and against Joe Biden and Democrats.

 

Republicans will only have a slim majority – 222 Republicans to 212 Democrats – which means McCarthy can’t afford many defections if he is to find the 218 votes needed to make him Speaker.

Since Congress can’t function until it has a House speaker, the position is filled on the first day of a new Congress, January 3, even before members-elect take the oath of office.  At noon Eastern time, the clerk of the House will gavel in the new Congress and will call a quorum. The first major order of business will be the speaker election. Democrats will place Rep. Hakeem Jeffries' name into nomination, and Republicans are set to place McCarthy’s name.  Then the clerk will call the roll, and each member will state the name of the person whom they are voting for. If no one amasses a majority of votes cast, it goes to a second ballot. If another ballot is needed, it is not clear if Congress will recess the chamber or if members will continue voting.

Be aware - there’s no rule that the speaker must be a member of the party that holds the majority of seats in the House, or even be a House member.  Members can vote for anyone, and they can protest by skipping the vote or voting present. 

It's very unlikely, but in the true spirit of GOTV, we're pulling for a first-time in the history of the vote for Speaker: that the leader of the minority, Hakeem Jeffries, takes the gavel.