Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House is the leader of the United States House of Representatives elected by its members. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is the Speaker as of 2023.

Contrary to a popular misperception, the Speaker himself does not have to be a member of the House, under Robert's Rules of Order. For example, Donald Trump could have been elected Speaker of the House in 2023.

## Constitutional Role[edit]

The position was created by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution. However it is vague on the particularities of the position, as it is on many other positions, leaving it up to the House to flesh it out. Our Founding Fathers created the position recognizing the need for a leader to run the House. Although a Speaker is not required to be a member of Congress, no Speaker who is not in Congress has ever been elected.

## Selection[edit]

Traditionally the majority party has chosen the Speaker after the biannual Congressional Elections. If the majority party does not have its members vote for their candidate, a minority party member could become Speaker. However this has never occurred in the history of the Union.

## Speakers[edit]

Speaker | Term

|

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg | 1789-1791
Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. | 1791-1793
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg | 1793-1795
Jonathan Dayton | 1795-1799
Theodore Sedgwick | 1799-1801
Nathaniel Macon | 1801-1807
Joseph Bradley Varnum | 1807-1811
Henry Clay | 1811-1814
Langdon Cheves | 1814-1815
Henry Clay | 1815-1820
John W. Taylor | 1820-1821
Philip Pendleton Barbour | 1821-1823
Henry Clay | 1823-1825
John W. Taylor | 1825-1827
Andrew Stevenson | 1827-1834
John Bell | 1834-1835
James Knox Polk | 1835-1839
Robert M. T. Hunter | 1839-1841
John White | 1841-1843
John Winston Jones | 1843-1845
John Wesley Davis | 1845-1847
Robert Charles Winthrop | 1847-1849
Howell Cobb | 1849-1851
Linn Boyd | 1851-1855
Nathaniel Prentice Banks | 1856-1857
James Lawrence Orr | 1857-1859
William Pennington | 1860-1861
Galusha A. Grow | 1861-1863
Schuyler Colfax | 1863-1869
Theodore Medad Pomeroy | 1869
James G. Blaine | 1869-1875
Michael Crawford Kerr | 1875-1876
Samuel Jackson Randall | 1876-1881
Joseph Warren Keifer | 1881-1883
John Griffin Carlisle | 1883-1889
Thomas Brackett Reed | 1889-1891
Charles Frederick Crisp | 1891-1895
Thomas Brackett Reed | 1895-1899
David B. Henderson | 1899-1903
Joseph Gurney Cannon | 1903-1911
Champ Clark | 1911-1919
Frederick Gillett | 1919-1925
Nicholas Longworth | 1925-1931
John Nance Garner | 1931-1933
Henry T. Rainey | 1933-1934
Joseph Wellington Byrns | 1935-1936
William Brockman Bankhead | 1936-1940
Sam Rayburn | 1940-1947 (longest serving Speaker)
Joseph Martin | 1947-1949
Sam Rayburn | 1949-1953
Joseph Martin | 1953-1955
Sam Rayburn | 1955-1961
John McCormack | 1961-1971
Carl Bert Albert | 1971-1977
Tip O'Neill | 1977-1987
James Wright | 1987-1989
Thomas Foley | 1989-1995
Newt Gingrich | 1995-1999
J. Dennis Hastert | 1999-2007
Nancy Pelosi | 2007-2010
John Boehner | 2010-2015
Paul Ryan | 2015-2019
Nancy Pelosi (2nd term) | 2019-2023
Kevin McCarthy | 2023-present