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Speaker(s) of the United States House of Representatives
There have been 55 different men who have served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives for a total of 64 speakerships since the 1st Congress began its first session in 1789. Unlike in Westminister systems, the Speaker is a partisan figure who is, by convention, the leader of the majority party in the chamber and works to implement his party's agenda. In contrast to the office’s title, the speaker rarely presides over the House (usually giving the job to a freshman legislator) and rarely votes or speaks on the House floor. Instead, the Speaker performs procedural and administrative duties as well as representing his district (although not a requirement that the speaker be elected from House members, every speaker thus far has been a sitting representative). In addition, the Speaker is second in line to the presidency behind the vice president, and when the president is of the opposite party, typically serves as the face of opposition to the president’s agenda.
In the past half-century, the role of the Speaker has changed. The legendary Sam Rayburn (the longest-serving speaker who served a total of 17 years between 1940 and 1961) acted as a mediator between powerful committee chairs who, owing to the seniority system and their seats being safe for the Democratic Party, essentially ran their committees as fiefdoms. The shift of the party, especially on the issue of civil rights and Vietnam, outpaced the older committee chairs and by the 1960s, new congressmen (and women) were increasingly frustrated with the largely southern committee chairs who effectively controlled what legislation could make it to the House floor. In 1973, young liberal members combined with disgruntled veteran lawmakers to abolish the seniority system—instead, committee chairs would be elected by the party's house caucus in a secret ballot and the Speaker would be allowed to appoint all party members on the powerful Rules Committee, as well as the ability to assign a bill to multiple committees.
Despite the 1970s reforms, Democratic speakers from Carl Albert (1971-1977) to Tom Foley (1991-1995) only slowly began to use the office's new powers in a way that made the speaker the predominant figure in the House. It was only with the election of the first Republican speaker in four decades, Dick Cheney (1995-1999) that the modern speakership emerged. Cheney began the centralized, top-down style leadership that has characterized all subsequent speakers, regardless of whether they were Democrats or Republicans, although his successors for the most part have been more transparent both with the media and other members of the party leadership.
In the past half-century, the role of the Speaker has changed. The legendary Sam Rayburn (the longest-serving speaker who served a total of 17 years between 1940 and 1961) acted as a mediator between powerful committee chairs who, owing to the seniority system and their seats being safe for the Democratic Party, essentially ran their committees as fiefdoms. The shift of the party, especially on the issue of civil rights and Vietnam, outpaced the older committee chairs and by the 1960s, new congressmen (and women) were increasingly frustrated with the largely southern committee chairs who effectively controlled what legislation could make it to the House floor. In 1973, young liberal members combined with disgruntled veteran lawmakers to abolish the seniority system—instead, committee chairs would be elected by the party's house caucus in a secret ballot and the Speaker would be allowed to appoint all party members on the powerful Rules Committee, as well as the ability to assign a bill to multiple committees.
Despite the 1970s reforms, Democratic speakers from Carl Albert (1971-1977) to Tom Foley (1991-1995) only slowly began to use the office's new powers in a way that made the speaker the predominant figure in the House. It was only with the election of the first Republican speaker in four decades, Dick Cheney (1995-1999) that the modern speakership emerged. Cheney began the centralized, top-down style leadership that has characterized all subsequent speakers, regardless of whether they were Democrats or Republicans, although his successors for the most part have been more transparent both with the media and other members of the party leadership.
- lord caedus
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