Does the House Speaker Have To Be A Elected House Member?

[Hobby]

Does the speaker have to be a member of the House? Much debate on this!

Some say: The Constitution is silent on that question, saying simply, "The House of Representatives shall chuse (sic) their Speaker and other Officers."

The Clerk of the House agrees with the office of the House Historian, which says the speaker "has always been (but is not required to be) a House Member."

Most historians and legal experts who've looked at this issue conclude the founders simply assumed the speaker would be drawn from among elected members.

My Opinion...I believe the Constitution does make it clear who the Speaker has to be.

Constitution states: "The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers..." The Speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House of Representatives.


The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

Clearly the constitution requirement intent of members of the House are to be elected officials. House Speaker is a member of the House.

[HighStepper]

When there is an ambiguity in a written law the courts will after hearing arguments issue a judgment on interpreting the meaning.

As you pointed out, The Clerk of the House agrees with the office of the House Historian, which says the speaker "has always been (but is not required to be) a House Member."

A Congressional Bill to Require Speaker of House to be a Member of the House was introduced July 2021. If it were clear a law would not be needed.

Let's say a Republican majority held house elected Donald Trump as Speaker of the House and it goes to a 6 to 3 Supreme Court, I think you would lose your argument set forth here.

[Hobby]

According to House Rules the Speaker can cast a deciding vote in ties and enter into debates.  How can a non elected member cast any vote? The House of Representatives are our elected representative of our districts. I would think if a non elected representative became Speaker the House would no longer be a house of representatives, the name of the House would have to be changed. They House of Do As We Please!

IMO... founding fathers who wrote the constitution used common sense and expected everyone after to do the same and not try to exploit some loop not nailed down. The constitution was left open for amendments to change our constitution as needed.

[HighStepper]

According to House Rules the Speaker can cast a deciding vote in ties and enter into debates.  How can a non elected member cast any vote?

You answered your own question. The rules say the Speaker can vote.

The House Rules Committee was established this day 233 years ago, which was a couple of years after the signing of the Constitution. They make the rules.

[dogwalker]

Be the above as it is, are 200+ people going to vote in someone that is not part of their existing clique? 
Not too likely, unless a certain party gains control of House in 2022 and a certain someone mandates it?  LOL

[HighStepper]

Yes Dogwalker, you make good points when speaking to the practical aspect of the matter.
I believe there are a significant number of House Republicans that don't want Trump as Speaker.

If the Republicans take back the house the drama to watch is how Kevin McCarthy will fare.
This poor guy has been sucking *ss to achieve his hope to become speaker for a very long time.

GOP schism means Kevin McCarthy may miss his next chance to become the speaker of the House

[Hobby]

It is appearing more and more that Trump just might well be the next speaker of the House.  I hope not! Could explain why Trump is so busy holding rallies across the country. If Republicans do good in Nov midterms they just might have enough seats to control Congress and have the majority of 67 in the Senate needed to convict and remove Biden and Harris, not that it would be a bad thing to get rid of Biden Harris just not so great if Trump succeeds to the Presidency for 2 years and then is eligible to run again one more time. Will the Supreme Court hear a case brought to them if this should happen? Probably not as the Constitution leaves the speaker nomination in the hands of the house to elect their speaker. Does the fact that the Speaker selection is a tradition of nominating a sitting Congressman, probably not... With Trump, many things have been a first!

The 'Trump for speaker' movement just got a new endorsement

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/10/politics/trump-house-speaker-movement-vernon-jones/index.html

[HighStepper]

This kind of talk gives Kevin McCarthy heartburn, lol.

[Hobby]

This kind of talk gives Kevin McCarthy heartburn, lol.

And probably sends chills down Democrats' backs...

[Danno]

Trump would never want to be Speaker of the House. He would have to go to work everyday. Not enough golf time. by the why his golfing cost tax payers $141,000,000. But that's ok, he didn't take a salary.

[Hobby]

Apparently, Trump could be the Speaker of the House and not have to be there.  The House would elect a pro tempore to carry out the duties of Speaker. And if Congress is dominated and controlled by Republicans an impeachment and trial could take only a few days to rid our country of Biden and Harris.  It would be a gross abuse by our Congress of the impeachment and removal clause of the Constitution for sure but it would probably be legal and stand. If congress did something like this I believe it would destroy our democracy.

[Danno]

what they are doing with election laws in some states is already destroying our Democracy.

[Hobby]

what they are doing with election laws in some states is already destroying our Democracy.

Who are they? And what has been done or is being done that undermines some state's election laws?

[Romanticlover]

what they are doing with election laws in some states is already destroying our Democracy.

Requiring a voter to have an ID and be a citizen is destroying our democracy?

[Danno]

having only one poll open in a city of 2 million