Speaker election falters. Should an interim post become Plan B?
| Washington
After two weeks of trying to elect a new speaker with no success, House Republicans are confronting the uncomfortable possibility that perhaps no candidate will be able to win the necessary 217 supporters. On Wednesday, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan lost a second vote on the House floor by a larger margin than before.
Some in the GOP are now casting about for a Plan B. One idea gaining currency 鈥撀爐o let acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry temporarily do the job.
Like every aspect of this saga, this option, too, is fraught with uncertainty. No speaker has ever been voted out as Kevin McCarthy was on Oct. 3, and his acting successor, Mr. McHenry, is the first ever to take up the gavel under an emergency rule adopted in the wake of 9/11. The rule is not particularly clear, but some experts say it appears to limit Mr. McHenry鈥檚 powers to simply presiding over the election of a new speaker.聽
Why We Wrote This
The fact that discussion has turned to the idea of an interim speaker of the House speaks to the remarkable place this Congress now finds itself in 鈥� with no real precedent and no clear guidelines.
鈥淧eople who know the House rules inside and out disagree over what McHenry can and can鈥檛 do,鈥� says Matthew Green, an expert on the speakership at Catholic University in Washington. 鈥淚t really is a blank slate.鈥�
Any formal effort to empower Mr. McHenry would require support from a majority of the House 鈥� meaning either the divided GOP conference would have to agree to unite around this option, or they would need to turn to Democrats for help. If neither is feasible, some suggest Mr. McHenry could just open the House for business anyway, and essentially see what happens.
The fact that we are even having this conversation, say experts, speaks to the remarkable place this Congress now finds itself in 鈥� with no real precedent and no clear guidelines. Even if lawmakers are somehow able to agree on Mr. McHenry鈥檚 role, bringing an end to the current crisis, there鈥檚 little reason to believe he鈥檒l have any greater success than Mr. McCarthy had in leading this fractured GOP majority. An empowered speaker pro tempore would almost immediately need to deal with urgent 鈥� and highly divisive 鈥� issues, from a looming government shutdown to aid for Israel and Ukraine.聽
鈥淓lecting McHenry, or someone else, as speaker pro tem does not solve the underlying problem plaguing the House GOP,鈥� says Molly Reynolds, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. It may get the House out of parliamentary limbo, but it 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 solve the underlying divisions.鈥澛�
McHenry鈥檚 path to this moment
First elected to Congress in 2004 at the age of 29, Mr. McHenry has repeatedly won reelection to North Carolina鈥檚 10th congressional district with double-digit support. He previously served in GOP leadership as chief deputy whip, and more recently, was a key McCarthy ally helping the Californian win the speakership in January.聽
He鈥檚 a party loyalist and insider, but also someone whom Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has hinted he would be willing to partner with to reopen the House. Unlike Mr. McCarthy, Mr. McHenry voted to certify the 2020 election results, and he was a top GOP negotiator in a deal with the White House to raise the debt limit earlier this year.聽
Ohio Republican Dave Joyce, chair of the moderate Republican Governance Group, is reportedly prepared to to temporarily empower Mr. McHenry as speaker. And after Mr. Jordan鈥檚 failed second bid for the speakership Wednesday, more Republicans seem to be warming to the idea. Simultaneously, some Republicans are hardening against Mr. Jordan as his team鈥檚 pressure tactics backfire.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a whole different ball game when you are opposed [to a speaker] on principle and start being attacked,鈥� Arkansas Republican Steve Womack following his second floor vote for Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise over Mr. Jordan. 鈥淎nd I can speak to it, because I鈥檝e been attacked.鈥�
Mr. Jeffries hasn鈥檛 confirmed that his caucus would support Mr. Joyce鈥檚 resolution, but he has reiterated his support for finding a 鈥渂ipartisan path鈥� forward. And that bipartisan path, says the New York Democrat, 鈥渃annot be Jim Jordan.鈥澛�
When asked Wednesday afternoon if he would accept expanded powers, Mr. McHenry said his focus is on electing Jim Jordan.聽
Many Republicans are against the idea of removing the 鈥渁cting鈥� from Mr. McHenry鈥檚 current title, both because of what it would mean for House rules, and also because they are committed to electing a far-right conservative such as Mr. Jordan.聽
鈥淚n order to expand [McHenry鈥檚] powers, you have to work with Democrats to do that,鈥� Florida Republican Mike Waltz told reporters Wednesday following Mr. Jordan鈥檚 second failed vote.聽聽
But the number of Republicans needed to pass the resolution will, of course, be lower if some 鈥� or all 鈥� of the Democratic caucus supports a Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry.
鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 gotten much attention, but Democrats do have an incentive to get the House up and running again,鈥� says Mr. Green at Catholic University, given that they hold both the Senate and the White House. 鈥淎t some point, they are going to have things they want to get done.鈥�
Although a bipartisan resolution designating Mr. McHenry as speaker pro tempore 鈥渢ies a bow鈥� on ending the impasse, says Soren Dayton, director of governance at the Niskanen Center, it would also hobble Mr. McHenry from the start, given that many Republicans oppose any House leader elected with Democratic help.聽
Is a vote even needed?聽
This has led some rules scholars and even some lawmakers to wonder: What if Mr. McHenry just started acting as speaker?聽
Former Speaker McCarthy, for one, says that since the acting speaker rule was meant to provide for the continuity of government, he believes Mr. McHenry should already have effectively the same powers as the speaker.
鈥淧atrick should have that power right now,鈥� Mr. McCarthy told reporters between conference meetings Friday.
鈥淏usiness should go on in the House of Representatives,鈥� agrees New York Republican Nick聽LaLota, who voted against Mr. Jordan both Tuesday and Wednesday. 鈥淎nd it does not require a vote, in my opinion.鈥澛�
The narrowest interpretation of the acting speaker pro tem position 鈥� which is the interpretation that Mr. McHenry has followed 鈥� only allows Mr. McHenry to recess, adjourn, or call for a vote on the speaker.聽
But some argue Mr. McHenry could just assume the full powers of a speaker pro tem without a resolution. They could establish Mr. McHenry鈥檚 powers by forcing a 鈥渢est vote,鈥� says Mr. Dayton, on an important and largely supported measure like Israel security assistance 鈥� thereby creating a new precedent.
鈥淵ou use the power of the underlying political substance to force their hand on the process,鈥� says Mr. Dayton. In other words, dare House members to vote against Israel aid simply because they disagree with Mr. McHenry鈥檚 ability to bring the bill to the floor.聽
Questions would still arise over things like whether Mr. McHenry would have a place in the presidential line of succession (the House speaker is second in line for the presidency, after the vice president), whether he can take part in classified intelligence briefings, or if he can issue the oath of office to new members who are set to be sworn in following a Rhode Island special election in November.聽
And if a member disagreed with Mr. McHenry鈥檚 power to act as speaker, the member could ask for a motion to constrain Mr. McHenry鈥檚 powers.聽
鈥淭his is where things get really nebulous,鈥� says Mr. Green, because Mr. McHenry could potentially then refuse to recognize that member and instead call for a recess.聽
In theory, 鈥淢r. McHenry could become a dictator. But he was picked in part for this position because he would not do that.鈥�
Staff writer Christa Case Bryant contributed to this report.
