Speaker of the House

(noun)

the presiding officer (chair) of the House of Representatives

Related Terms

Examples of Speaker of the House in the following topics:

  • Party Leadership in the House

    • The House Majority Leader's duties and prominence vary depending upon the style and power of the Speaker of the House.
    • As presiding office of the House of Representatives, the Speaker holds a variety of powers over the House but usually delegates them to another member of the majority party.
    • The Speaker in the United States, by tradition, is the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives, outranking the Majority Leader.
    • The Speaker may designate any member of the House to act as Speaker pro tempore and preside over the House.
    • Explain in detail the power of the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader and the Party Whip

  • The 25th Amendment

    • Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
    • Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
    • Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
    • Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
    • If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

  • The Clinton Administration Moves Right

    • In the 1994 midterm election, the Republican party gained control of both the House and the Senate and retained this majority until 2006.
    • The clear leader of the so-called revolution was Republican congressman Newt Gingrich, who became Speaker of the House as a result of the victory .
    • When the 104th United States Congress convened in January 1995, House Republicans voted former Minority Whip Newt Gingrich – the chief architect of their victory and author of the "Contract with America" – Speaker of the House, while the new senatorial Republican majority chose Bob Dole, previously Minority Leader, as Majority Leader.
    • For example, of the 230 Republican House members of the 104th Congress, almost a third (73; 32%) were new to the House.
    • Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House following the Republican victory of 1994

  • Divided Government

    • The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives.
    • The group started with these nine initial members, who set a criterion that new members must be willing to vote against Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner on legislation that the group opposed.
    • The Caucus was involved in the resignation of Boehner on September 25, 2015, and the ensuing leadership battle for the new Speaker.
    • On October 29, 2015, Paul Ryan succeeded John Boehner as the Speaker of the House.
    • On October 29, 2015, Paul Ryan succeeded John Boehner as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

  • Conference Committee

    • The conference committee is usually composed of the senior members of the standing committees of each house that originally considered the legislation.
    • The two houses can reach that identical product through the process of amendments between Houses, where the House passes the Senate bill with a House amendment, or vice versa.
    • Each house determines the number of conferees from its house.
    • The conference committee produces a conference report melding the work of the House and Senate into a final version of the bill.
    • Speaker of the House John Boehner (R), seen here with President Barack Obama during the 2011 State of the Union, called for a conference committee to discuss new tax policies that were introduced to the house in 2011.

  • The Election of 1824

    • John Quincy Adams was elected President by the House of Representatives in 1824, despite not winning the popular vote.
    • The presidential election of 1824 is notable for being the only election since the passage of the Twelfth Amendment to have been decided by the House of Representatives.
    • A third candidate, Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, hailed from Kentucky and represented the western states.
    • House Speaker Clay did not want to see his rival, Jackson, become president and therefore worked within the House to secure the presidency for Adams, convincing many to cast their vote for the New Englander.
    • This map illustrates the voting for candidates by state in the House of Representatives election of 1824.

  • The House of Representatives

    • The United States House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the United States Congress.
    • In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted.
    • The United States House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the United States Congress (bicameral legislature).
    • The composition and powers of the House are established in Article 1 of the United States Constitution.
    • The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, who presides over the chamber, is elected by the members of the House, and is therefore traditionally the leader of the House Democratic Caucus or the House Republican Conference, whichever of the two Congressional Membership Organizations has more (voting) members.

  • Speaker

    • The speaker is one of the key elements of the basic speech communication model.
    • For the purposes of speech communication, the speaker is you!
    • Let's take a step back and look at a very specific definition of the message speaker, or sender:
    • The sender is the initiator of communication.
    • This is why it's so valuable to understand the importance of your role as speaker, as the initiator of communication in the delivery of your message.

  • Persuasive Speeches

    • The purpose of a persuasive speech is to convince the audience to adopt the speaker's perspective on a given topic.
    • The core of a persuasive speech is pathos: appealing to and resonating with the audience's feelings and emotions.
    • In order for the pathos contained in a persuasive speech to be effective, the speaker has to understand the audience he/she is addressing.To be convincing, the speaker has to take into account the behavioral motivations and foundational beliefs of the audience.
    • An appeal to ethos is used to show the character of the speaker and make him/her more credible.
    • Political speeches aim is to persuade the audience to vote for the speaker.

  • Make Adjustments

    • Demographic information helps the speaker anticipate the audience and imagine how they will respond to different aspects of the message.
    • This is sometimes referred to as diction, which is the speaker's selection of the right words and style of expression.
    • The speaker may have to set aside his or her own attitudes, values, and beliefs in order to temporarily adopt the viewpoint of the audience.
    • With a face-to-face audience in a small room , the speaker can observe non-verbal reactions such as looks of confusion or expressions of agreement or disagreement, and adjust the message accordingly.
    • An example of an audience in a small room, where the speaker can see their reactions.