Even if there were sufficient Republican resignations to give Democrats an actual majority in the body, Johnson would remain Speaker unless and until he resigns or is removed by a motion to vacate. Likewise, the current majority-Republican committee assignments will stand unless and until the House passes a resolution to change them.
Also, any such majority would be temporary – there are already special elections scheduled in the coming weeks to fill the three currently open Republican seats and one open Democratic seat. All are favored to elect successors of the same party.
Even if the state agreed to go along with it, I cannot imagine such a move surviving a court challenge.
According to Ken Buck, the next three resignations are going to upset republicans. That was before Mike Gallagher, so two more, if what he said is true.
Also, I heard a republican on CNN a little bit ago and he was very upset about Mike Gallagher choosing to leave on April 19th. I tuned him out so I don’t know why he’s so mad.
Probably because by choosing April 19th, his very red seat will not be able to be replaced by way of a special election. It will leave the seat vacant for 10 months.
Maybe the Senate-passed Ukraine aid bill, but that’s no sure thing as some Democrats are opposed because of the aid to Israel. They’d have to pass it as-is because their majority wouldn’t last long enough to take it to conference. But it would take at least a few days to depose Johnson, install Jeffries and get their act together.
For the record, the upcoming special elections are:
April 30: NY 26 (D seat)
May 21: CA 20 (R seat)
June 11: OH 6 (R seat)
June 25: CO 4 (R seat)
Sounds pretty repugnantly back-roomsy and anti-democratic to me. I don’t want to have to be forced to vote for some opportunistic douchebag even if they are anti-Trump. For example Liz Cheney may have some personal integrity, but from my perspective her political values are still shitty.
Gallagher’s decision to leave April 19 also means that there will not be a special election to fill his seat. Under Wisconsin state law, vacancies after the second Tuesday in April are filled in the general election, so Gallagher’s replacement will be decided in November and his seat will remain empty until January.
I wondered whether the Wisconsin lege could rush through a change to the law, but they’ve adjourned and the GOP doesn’t have a bulletproof supermajority anyway. So they’re stuck, it looks like.
It can make a big difference in finding out why a Social Security check is delayed, or encouraging Medicare or VA to approve a prosthetic, or filling a military academy appointment.
Since he’s resigned, is the office closed, and staff sent home? (honest question). I would imagine the staff do the vast majority of the constituency work.
Huh. It lookes like (as of five years ago, anyway) the staff of a retiring congresscritter gets to stay on under the supervision of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Yes, the staff does the constituent work on Capitol Hill A staffer who knows how to make constituent services run well is worth their weight in gold. Heck, Strom Thurmond had one of the best constituent offices in the Senate, which is most of what kept him in his seat for eight terms.
Remains so under the current law and rules. The day the sitting member is officially out of the House, the plaque in front of their office with their name is replaced with one that says “Office of the (Nth) Congressional District of (State)”.
Of course a lot of it depends on what staff remains there as opposed to having moved to ensure a more secure post elsewhere themselves, which is why the Clerk may hire people to maintain a minimum level of service.
Generally, a Congressional office will have their casework staff located in one or more offices back in the district, and their Capitol offices will have staff more focused on legislating and messaging. As mentioned, in the event of a vacancy, the Clerk takes over operation of the Member’s offices. But only the caseworkers are allowed to continue doing their jobs. The DC staff pretty much have nothing to do, and generally work on their resumes.
Whoever wins the special election will take over the previous member’s offices and whatever staff remain (whom they can retain or dismiss at their discretion). If it was a particularly senior Member that they’re replacing, they may have a nice spacious office with a terrace overlooking the Mall and an en suite bathroom for the Member. But come the next Congress, they’ll be kicked back to the basement of the Longworth building with the other lowbies.