Speaker of the House

Historian Joanne Freeman on What Follows Speaker Battle

"It would be hard to exaggerate the degree to which rules can be weapons in Congress if they're deployed the right way." 

What Can We Learn from the 1923 Speaker Fight?

by Christopher McKnight Nichols and Maxine Wagenhoffer

Intraparty factionalism was prevalent then as now, but the most recent speaker battle shows that the forces of party discipline that could moderate factional strife have fallen away, making bomb-throwing and grandstanding politically rewarding. 

"You Don't Have the Votes": The House Speaker Fight Echoes 1839

by Michael Trapani

With multiple votes, partisan hostility, and charges of an electoral "steal" in the air, the House Speaker battle of 1839 offers a compelling comparison to today. 

The Constitution Won't Be Much Help Resolving the Speaker Mess

While the Constitution requires the House to choose it's speaker, it gives no guidance how. Usually custom and party discipline are sufficient to accomplish the task, but not always. 

Trump says Pelosi is worst House speaker in history. Twitter remembers Dennis Hastert.

Disgraced former House speaker Dennis Hastert’s name was trending on Twitter Saturday morning after President Trump suggested “Nancy Pelosi will go down as the absolute worst Speaker of the House in U.S. History!”

Paul Ryan’s Haunted House

by Josh Zeitz

What can he learn from the ghosts of speakers past?

Czars And Firebrands: A Brief History Of Power In The House

by Ron Elving

The speaker has far more power in the House than any one senator has in the Senate. And at times in our history, the speaker's power has rivaled that of the president himself.

What the Fight for the Speakership Is Actually About

by John Lawrence

Republicans are split on how to balance broad participation against the efficient functioning of the institution.

Thomas Foley, former House Speaker, dies at 84

Foley presided over the House from 1989 to 1994.