- The US House currently has no duly-sworn members, and won’t until a Speaker is chosen.
- The chamber cannot pass any legislation, since members-elect can’t introduce bills.
- It’s the first time in a century that the House has been vacant for more than a day.
The United States House of Representatives is currently vacant.
On Tuesday morning, the 117th Congress — in which Democrats held a narrow majority and passed several major pieces of legislation — formally dissolved. Hours later, the chamber re-convened for the 118th Congress, ready to elect a new Speaker of the House and organize itself.
But after the new crop of members — of which Republicans make up a narrow majority — showed up, they failed to elect a Speaker despite three separate attempts on Tuesday.
The chamber then voted to adjourn without taking the next step: swearing in the 434 lawmakers elected to Congress in November (the recent death of Democratic Rep. Don McEachin of Virginia means there is one less member than the typical 435). Thus, a gap between sessions that typically lasts just a few hours stretched into at least a day.
The House is scheduled to reconvene at noon at Wednesday, with the first order of business being the election of a Speaker.
Under federal law, members cannot be sworn in until a Speaker is chosen.
“At the first session of Congress after every general election of Representatives, the oath of office shall be administered by any Member of the House of Representatives to the Speaker; and by the Speaker to all the Members and Delegates present, and to the Clerk, previous to entering on any other business,” the law reads.
That includes lawmakers who have been serving for decades or those who just got elected for the first time.
Furthermore, the House and its chosen members cannot do anything — including pass legislation, assist constituents, or carry out any of the functions laid out in the Constitution — until a Speaker is sworn in and that person administers the oath of office to the rest of the chamber.
“Until a Member-elect has subscribed to the oath, he does not enjoy all the rights and prerogatives of a Member of Congress,” read the procedures of the House. “Members who have not taken the oath are not entitled to vote or to introduce bills.”
Those procedures do allow for “unsworn Members” to participate in “organizational business” at the start of a session “such as the election of the Speaker.”
The last time such a gap occurred was in 1923, when it took the chamber a few days to re-elect Republican Rep. Frederick Gillett of Massachusetts to the job.
Current, former, and future members of Congress all noted the bizarre nature of the situation, spurred by the inability of Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California to win enough votes to become Speaker.
“Who can legally help any and all of our citizens with issues we normally handle everyday?” asked former Republican Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, noting the role that members play in assisting their constituents with federal agencies.
Democratic Rep.-elect Becca Balint of Vermont posted a photo of her “swearing in shoes,” noting that she would have to “wear them tomorrow I guess!”
“SIKE!!” wrote Democratic Rep.-elect Maxwell Frost of Florida on Twitter.
Source: I N S I D E R
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