Who Is The Speaker Of The House Of Representatives ?
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the officer who chairs the sessions of the House and is also responsible for supervising the sessions. He or she is positioned second in the presidential line of succession, followed by the President pro tempore of the Senate and preceded by the Vice President of the United States. The office of the Speaker of the House was established in the year 1789, as described by Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution. The Article clearly states in part that the Speaker and the other officers shall be chosen by the member of the House of Representatives. |
Nancy Pelosi, a democrat representing California’s 8th Congressional District, is the 60th and the current speaker of the House of Representatives.
In the U.S. Parliament, the Speaker is a headship position in the majority party who is actively involved in setting the legislative agenda of the party. Although the Speaker does not preside over the House debates personally, he/she has the power to assign the duty to other congressional members of his/her political party. Besides leading the House of Representatives and the majority political party, the Speaker also carries out a large number of administrative and procedural functions, while standing for his/her respective congressional district.
The Speaker of the House is elected by the members of the House of Representatives on the day of inauguration of every new Congress. Once elected by majority votes, the Speaker is made to take an oath by the Dean of the House, the longest-serving member of the chamber. Although the Speaker should already be an elected representative, he need not be the current member of the House.
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