Speaker of the House

From dKosopedia

Category: US House

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives, a position created by the Constitution:

The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

The Constitution makes no further statement as to the powers or responsibilities of the Speaker of the House, save that the Speaker (and the President pro tempore of the Senate) must be notified in writing if the President is unable to fulfill his duties. Federal law makes the Speaker the second in line of Presidential succession, after the Vice President.

Because the Speaker is elected by majority vote of the House, he (and it has always been a "he," though most (but not all) House Democrats would like Nancy Pelosi to change that in 2005) is almost certain to be a member of the majority party in the House.

The power that the Speaker of the House wields depends as much on the personality and persuasiveness of the office-holder as on the office itself, but in general the Speaker is considered one of the most influential members of the U.S. Government, often surpassing the Vice President and, in some memorable matchups, rivaling the President himself.

The current (June 2004) Speaker of the House is Dennis Hastert, a Republican from Illinois.

Previous Holders of the Speakership

1. Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg (Pro-Administration), of Pennsylvania, 1st Congress
2. Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut, 2nd Congress
3. Frederich A.C. Muhlenberg (Anti-Administration), 3rd Congress
4. Jonathan Dayton (Federalist), of New Jersey, 4th - 5th Congress
5. Theodore Sedgwick (Federalist), of Massachusetts, 6th Congress
6. Nathaniel Macon (Jacksonian), of North Carolina, 7th - 9th Congress
7. Joseph B. Varnum, of Massachusetts, 10th - 11th Congress
8. Henry Clay (Republican), of Kentucky, 12th-13th Congress
9. Langdon Cheves (Republican), of South Carolina, 13th Congress
10. Henry Clay (Republican), 14th - 16th Congress
11. John W. Taylor (Republican), of New York, 16th, 19th Congress
12. Philip P. Barbour (Jacksonian), of Virginia, 17th Congress
13. Henry Clay (Republican), 18th Congress
14. John W. Taylor (Republican), 19th Congress
15. Andrew Stevenson (Jacksonian), of Virginia, 20th - 23rd Congress
16. John Bell (American (Know-Nothing)), of Tennessee, 23rd Congress
17. James K. Polk (Democrat), of Tennessee, 24th - 25th Congress
18. Robert M.T. Hunter (Democrat), of Virginia, 26th Congress
19. John White (Whig), of Kentucky, 27th Congress
20. John W. Jones (Democrat), of Virginia, 28th Congress
21. John W. Davis (Democrat), of Indiana, 29th Congress
22. Robert C. Winthrop (Whig), of Massachusetts, 30th Congress
23. Howell Cobb (Democrat), of Georgia, 31st Congress
24. Linn Boyd (Democrat), of Kentucky, 32nd - 33rd Congress
25. Nathaniel P. Banks (American), of Massachusetts, 34th Congress
26. James L. Orr (Democrat), of South Carolina, 35th Congress
27. William Pennington (Republican), of New Jersey, 36th Congress
28. Galusha A. Grow (Republican), of Pennsylvania, 37th Congress
29. Schuyler Colfax (Republican), of Indiana, 38th - 40th Congress
30. Theodore M. Pomeroy (Republican), of New York, 40th Congress
31. James G. Blaine (Republican), of Maine, 41st - 43rd Congress
32. Michael C. Kerr (Democrat), of Indiana, 44th Congress
33. Samuel J. Randall (Democrat), of Pennsylvania, 44th - 46th Congress
34. J. Warren Keifer (Republican), of Ohio, 47th Congres
35. John G. Carlisle (Democrat), of Kentucky, 48th - 50th Congress
36. Thomas B. Reed (Republican), of Maine, 51st Congress
37. Charles F. Crisp (Democrat), of Georgia, 52nd - 53rd Congress
38. Thomas B. Reed (Republican), 54th - 55th Congress
39. David B Henderson (Republican), of Iowa, 56th - 57th Congress
40. Joseph G. Cannon (Republican), of Illinois, 58th - 61st Congress
41. James Beauchamp Clark (Democrat), of Missouri, 62nd Congress - 65th Congress
42. Frederick H. Gillett (Republican), of Massachusetts, 66th - 68th Congress
43. Nicholas Longworth (Republican), of Ohio, 69th - 71st Congress
44. John Nance Garner (Democrat), of Texas, 72nd Congress
45. Henry T. Rainey (Democrat), of Illinois, 73rd Congress
46. Joseph W. Byrns (Democrat), of Tennessee, 74th Congress
47. William B. Bankhead (Democrat), of Alabama, 75th - 76th Congress
48. Sam Rayburn (Democrat), of Texas, 77th - 79th Congress
49. Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (Republican), of Massachusetts, 80th Congress
50. Sam Rayburn (Democrat), 81st - 82nd Congress
51. Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (Republican), 83rd Congress
52. Sam Rayburn (Democrat), 84th - 87th Congress
53. John W. McCormack (Democrat), of Massachusetts, 87th - 91st Congress
54. Carl Albert (Democrat), of Oklahoma, 92nd - 94th Congress
55. Tip O'Neill (Democrat), of Massachusetts, 95th - 99th Congress
56. Jim Wright (Democrat), of Texas, 100th - 101st Congress
57. Tom Foley (Democrat), of Washington, 101st - 103rd Congress
58. Newt Gingrich (Republican), of Georgia, 104th - 105th Congress
59. Dennis Hastert (Republican), of Illinois, 106th - Present