# Since the Speaker of the House doesn't have to be a member of Congress **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 10, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781 "2026-11-10T18:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/21 "2026-11-10T20:32:54Z")
Jefferies. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/22 "2026-11-10T20:35:27Z")
I’ll agree with Hakeem Jeffries as well. But why the search for an outside the House Speaker? The obvious choice, for those who want a progressive (and it seems like the major objection to Jeffries is that he isn’t a progressive), would be AOC. I don’t see why there’s a reason to look any further than one of those two. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/23 "2026-11-10T20:41:28Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Hakeem Jeffries. You may not _have_ to be a house member, but I think it helps. Yep, he is the best person for the job. Although certainly the OP is technically correct, this has not occurred is almost 240 years. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Jeffries is her chosen successor. she spent a lot of time teaching him how it’s done. > > Jeffries is my choice for this reason. And it’s why I believe he will be the next Speaker – wishes expressed in this thread notwithstanding. I concur. But in the spirit of the OP, how about Buttigieg ? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/24 "2026-11-10T20:55:53Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Hakeem Jeffries. You may not _have_ to be a house member, but I think it helps. And I think one reason why it helps is that the Speaker is in the same boat as the members - the House majority isn’t going to be as loyal to someone who doesn’t have their butt on the line electorally, having to face actual constituents, along with the rest of the membership. But in the spirit of the OP, I would think that Howard Dean might be an interesting choice. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > As it stands, Hakeem Jeffries will be 2nd in line to be POTUS, and the only Democrat on the list. President pro tem of the Senate (a largely ceremonial post, but included in the line of succession just behind the Speaker of the House) will also be a Democrat come January 3rd. It’s usually the senior member of the delegation, hence Chuck Grassley, senator since 1981, holds the position now. I think the Democratic senior senator will be Patty Murray? (checks Wikipedia) Yes, Patty Murray. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/25 "2026-11-10T21:07:11Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > > [@Atamasama](#): > > > > Barack Obama. > > > [@Czarcasm](#): > > > > Michelle Obama > > Hillary Clinton, because I think she’d piss off Trump more than either Obama. > [@Babale](#): > > Hakeem Jeffries. You may not _have_ to be a house member, but I think it helps. Well, if it had to be a house member that would piss off the President, how about AOC or Omar? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/26 "2026-11-10T21:12:23Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > it seems like the major objection to Jeffries is that he isn’t a progressive More specifically, it seems to be, “From his public statements, I don’t trust that he will investigate the Trump administration or try sufficiently hard enough to visit consequences on them.” I’m actually a little surprised that more folks in this board/thread don’t seem to agree. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/27 "2026-11-10T21:49:07Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Well, if it had to be a house member that would piss off the President, how about AOC or Omar? > [@Leaper](#): > > More specifically, it seems to be, “From his public statements, I don’t trust that he will investigate the Trump administration or try sufficiently hard enough to visit consequences on them.” > > I’m actually a little surprised that more folks in this board/thread don’t seem to agree. I think there’s not much agreement because the role of the Speaker is to get the business of the people done in the House of Representatives. To the extent that that business involves “pissing Trump off”, then sure, AOC or some other outsider Trump specifically doesn’t like would be a good Speaker. But the blue tsunami wasn’t primarily about pissing Trump off, it’s about fixing what he’s broken. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/28 "2026-11-10T22:08:24Z")
Right, that’s where the difference is: Many folks are interpreting the election results as a mandate to hold Trump accountable for his crimes, which in many eyes is very different from just “pissing him off” or “revenge,” as Jeffries implicitly put it. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/29 "2026-11-10T22:09:27Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Well, if it had to be a house member that would piss off the President, Is that really the criteria you wanna go by? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/30 "2026-11-10T22:23:21Z")
If we really have to pick a non-member for some reason, they should have lots of relevant experience. Joe Crowley served 20 years in the House, and was in leadership, before losing a primary to AOC. So he’s moderate, which could be helpful to newly elected Democratic House members, from Trumpy districts, who will have hard time keeping their seats two years from now. And Crowley is a reasonable age, 64. However, I prefer Hakeem Jeffries over a stunt pick. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/31 "2026-11-10T22:29:43Z")
No, I was just making a flippant comment. Attempting to be humorous, and possibly failing. The negative for Mayor Pete is that how much legislative body experience does he have? That being said, it certainly _could_ be a showcase for him to a national audience. I like what I’ve seen of him, but I don’t believe he could get elected President in my lifetime. Still too many homophobes. I personally don’t understand the hate for Jeffries. I think he’s been as effective as he could be as a minority leader. Now Chuck Schumer in the Senate is a different thing! I’m all behind finding someone else. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2026, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/32 "2026-11-11T02:09:11Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > But the blue tsunami wasn’t primarily about pissing Trump off, it’s about fixing what he’s broken. I hope that is where we are. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781/33 "2026-11-11T02:39:29Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > “From his public statements, I don’t trust that he will investigate the Trump administration or try sufficiently hard enough to visit consequences on them.” Has everybody missed that Jeffries is gung ho on the impeachment of Kegsbreath? He said he’s a “hard yes” on impeachment. He is quoted saying “Pete Hegseth has got to go.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-the-speaker-of-the-house-doesnt-have-to-be-a-member-of-congress/1034781.md?page=1)