Slightly different take on MAGA/Republican Unity. They have near perfect unity against anything Democrats want. Minus a few outliers in swing-ish states that will “reluctantly” compromise for the good of the nation. But internally it’s a backbiting hatefest among them - as especially the modern MAGA each tries to score points against the rest for their endless grift and “fame”.
So they are united on whom they hate and willing to work together to hurt them, but they absolutely want to shiv their competitors when that’s not on the table.
Trump endorsed Johnson for Speaker this morning in a Truth Social post. This is sure to get almost all of the Republicans on board, but it only takes two anti-Johnson Republicans to forestall his reelection.
At the first session of Congress after every general election of Representatives, the oath of office shall be administered by any Member of the House of Representatives to the Speaker; and by the Speaker to all the Members and Delegates present.
So a member swears in the Speaker who then swears in the member making them a member?
I’m late to this thread but I don’t think that anyone has mentioned this yet. If any Republicans vote Present instead of an alternate candidate to Johnson, it changes the math. Their vote doesn’t count towards the total when computing what the majority would be.
“The House must take these actions at the beginning of each new Congress because it is not a continuing body,” the CRS report says.
On the opening day of a new Congress, which usually convenes at noon on Jan. 3, the House typically follows a “well-established routine,” according to the CRS report. These proceedings include electing and swearing in the House speaker, swearing in members, electing and swearing in administrative officers, and adopting rules of procedure and various administrative resolutions.
“After the speaker is elected, the member with the longest continuous service (the Dean of the House) administers the oath to the speaker,” according to the U.S. House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website. “The speaker, in turn, administers the oath to the rest of the members en masse.”
But if no speaker is chosen, incoming House members cannot take an oath or be sworn in on the House floor, according to the U.S. Code of Law, which reads:
“At the first session of Congress after every general election of Representatives, the oath of office shall be administered by any Member of the House of Representatives to the Speaker; and by the Speaker to all the Members and Delegates present, and to the Clerk, previous to entering on any other business; and to the Members and Delegates who afterward appear, previous to their taking their seats.”
Also in 2 USC 25, the Speaker swears in the Clerk … but the Clerk runs the election for Speaker.
So I think that the precedent is that as of noon January 3rd that they are members and have limited powers until being sworn in so it is not unreasonable that one of these powers would be to certify the electoral vote.
Also, I do not see anywhere in the Constitution where a member of Congress must be sworn into office before performing their duties (if I’m wrong tell me where it is). So to declare they must would be unconstitutional as federal law cannot add to the requirements of the office. I.E. despite what 2 USC 25 says, they are full members of Congress at noon January 3rd.
See above what I ninja’d you with. I do not believe that constitutionally members of Congress need to be sworn in and “limited” powers is a traditional fiction.
Hmm. It will be an exciting day in US history. Beyond that everything behind every interpretation seems to be smoke and tradition. You may well be right.
The Constitution states that “Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings”, so if the rules of the House say they must be sworn in, then they must be sworn in.
