Headline of the Day

Congress Has the Opportunity to Do the Funniest Thing Ever

—The American Prospect on the prospect of a fight over the election of the Speaker might postpone the certification of the Eloctoral Vote count

What can I say, but, "Pass the fucking popcorn."

Let those of us in journalism give a word of thanks to the House Republican caucus for making the early days of January in odd-numbered years more interesting. Tomorrow kicks off the 119th Congress, and in the House it must start with a Speaker election. For roughly all of American history, this election was a staid and indeed invisible affair. But starting in 2023, a fractious Republican caucus has made this a suddenly interesting contest, full of uncertainty and intrigue. And if it’s not taken care of by Monday, there’s an outside chance we could see an enormously entertaining outcome: Republicans pulling off a self-imposed January 6th revolt.

In the 118th Congress, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was the eventual benefactor of Freedom Caucus disenchantment with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). But the way Johnson bungled the year-end spending bill has escalated already-existing grumbling with his leadership.

Johnson was already challenged in the last Congress with a motion to vacate the chair last May, after he successfully steered additional funding to Ukraine. That motion was swiftly tabled, with Democrats pitching in to save Johnson’s job. But the Speaker did lose 11 Republican votes, and among them are some of the prime candidates to abandon Johnson on tomorrow’s Speaker vote.

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One problem for Republicans is that they only have three days to get the Speaker in place before January 6, when the presidential electors are confirmed by Congress, rolls around. The typical scenario for the House is that they must select a Speaker first, and only move forward afterward. Members-elect aren’t even sworn in as members of the House until there’s a Speaker. 

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But the looming election certification will certainly concentrate GOP minds and raise the pressure to get a Speaker through already. Hard-liners may be checking parliamentary procedure rule books out of the library right now. The big question is: If the House cannot get it together to choose a Speaker before January 6, can the electoral votes be counted?

The answer is a qualified yes, with the proviso that it’s never really been done before. The House could elect a temporary Speaker just for the election certification, who would step down after an actual Speaker was selected. A version of this was done when the now-retired Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) was put in place temporarily in 2023 after McCarthy was ousted. The House clerk, who will essentially be in charge when business begins on January 3, could also be granted the power to swear in members and carry out the election certification.

I don't expect any of the scenarios to happen, but I hope dream for a week or so of Republicans stepping on their own dicks.