# How is the House of Representatives organized?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-house-of-representatives-organized/1023944>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 13, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-house-of-representatives-organized/1023944 "2025-10-13T22:08:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-house-of-representatives-organized/1023944/21 "2025-10-16T11:39:45Z")

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> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> It’s in Article VI:

Darn 🙂 - and I really did look for it.

I would assume that a legislature that attempted to pass laws would run into challenges to those laws if they had not taken the oath, but probably for the purposes of the bootstrapping of the body into legitimacy, there should be no such problem.

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**Author:** ![Gordon\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-house-of-representatives-organized/1023944/22 "2025-10-16T15:32:04Z")

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> [@Andy\_L](#):
>
> At the start of a new Congress, those voting to elect the speaker are representatives-elect, as a speaker must be selected before members are sworn in to office; the House of Representatives cannot organize or take other legislative actions until a speaker is elected.

This is tradition (or even “rule”), NOT constitution; and a sovereign parliamentary body can set its own rules at any time. They could have the janitor administer the oath if 51% agreed.

It was silly the way HofR wasted days before the swearings-in, with families taking time off from their own busy schedules, waiting for the photo-op.

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**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-house-of-representatives-organized/1023944/23 "2025-10-16T15:48:38Z")

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I wonder if they aren’t a sovereign body until they are sworn in - so they couldn’t change the rules until after changing the rules wasn’t necessary. Silly, I agree

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-house-of-representatives-organized/1023944/24 "2025-10-16T16:03:54Z")

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> [@Gordon\_G](#):
>
> This is tradition (or even “rule”), NOT constitution; and a sovereign parliamentary body can set its own rules at any time.

No it is the law. 2 USC 25  
I’ve posted the law above and even alluded to the fact that it is a law and not a house rule may make it unconstitutional.

> [@Gordon\_G](#):
>
> They could have the janitor administer the oath if 51% agreed.

Not even that many. All you need is a majority which, if everyone voted, is 218 votes. Not 222 (51%).

> [@Andy\_L](#):
>
> I wonder if they aren’t a sovereign body until they are sworn in - so they couldn’t change the rules until after changing the rules wasn’t necessary. Silly, I agree

You know, this is like the Yellowstone Zone of Death. Everyone agrees it is a potential problem and they could easily change the law to make it workable, but they don’t. Pure laziness.

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