Speaker of the House
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is elected by his or her fellow Members
to preside over the House. The Speaker typically maintains three roles, as
the Representative for his or her district, as a leader of his or her party, and
as the leader of the House as a whole. The party that holds a majority of
the seats in the House will generally elect a Representative of their own party
to serve as Speaker.
As specified in the rules and customs of the House, responsibilities of the Speaker
include:
- Calling the House to order.
- Administering the oath of office to House Members.
- Presiding over debate, recognizing Members to speak on the floor, and preserving
order; or delegating that power to another Member of Congress.
- Setting the legislative agenda.
- Leading the appointment process for the chairs of the various committees and subcommittees
in the House, including conference committees which negotiate final versions of
legislation.
The Speaker is also second in the line of succession to the presidency after the
Vice President under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.
