Tipsheet

Is This The Worst Possible Time to Be Without a Speaker?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 08, 2023 8:35 AM

Update: Fox News' Chad Pergram posted on Sunday morning that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has been briefed "on the Mideast crisis" and is working to get a briefing for all members. There was no mention as to if Acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) received such an update.

It's been less than a week since Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted as Speaker of the House. The House removed a speaker for the first time in its history. It looks to come at a particularly difficult time, not only since a government shutdown could still happen weeks from now despite being averted before the September 30 deadline, but because there's an international crisis going on after Hamas attacked Israel. 

Fox News' Chad Pergram, who has been posting helpful threads about the speaker situation, laid out an interesting series of points on Saturday on what it means to have no speaker at this time. Currently, Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is the acting speaker pro tempore, though as of late Saturday night it's still not clear as to if he'll be part of the Gang of 8 hearings. It's worth emphasizing that as a CNN report from Saturday noted, he "has the needed clearance."

In addition to the Speaker of the House, those who are part of the Gang of 8 include the chairman and ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Reps. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Jim Himes (D-CT); the chair and vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). 

Pergram's thread is notably titled "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to How the Middle East Crisis Could Expedite the Selection of a House Speaker." House Republicans will be meeting early this week, with a vote having been set last week for Wednesday. That might be sped up, though.

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The thread is 20 posts long, but here's how it applies to questions about McHenry's participation.

As several of Pergram's other posts in the thread note, we are in uncharted territory here, and McHenry could very well be setting a precedent for how much power any future speaker pro tempore may try to exert.

When it comes to the powers, or lack thereof, he currently does have, the CNN report noted that "McHenry cannot bring bills or even nonbinding resolutions to the floor" and "is mostly responsible for overseeing the election of a new speaker, which means recessing, adjourning or recognizing nominations on the floor."

The timing of the House being without a speaker has led to passionate criticism towards McCarthy's ouster, which took place on Tuesday, after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate on Monday night.

Perhaps the strongest criticism of that timing came from Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). The congressman took to his campaign X account on Saturday to make several posts, including one containing a profanity. One even called for reinstating McCarthy. Lawler will appear on CNN's "State of the Union" later on Sunday, where the topic will no doubt come up.

Gaetz has posted clear support for Israel from both his official and campaign accounts, though he hasn't posted as much as other members, such as Lawler for instance. It's particularly telling that his campaign account reposted Michael Thorning dimissing the concerns about not having a speaker at this time.

The seven other House Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to oust McCarthy also took some heat. This includes Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), as many reposted her own posts showing concern for Israel by pointing out the urgency of lacking a speaker.

As Pergram also later posted, McCarthy himself pointed to the concerns of ousting the speaker, emphasizing points he's made before, not only when it comes to how just 4 percent of House Republicans voted to remove him from the position, but also ethics concerns to do with Gaetz.