It’s day one, and Congress is already making history

Yesterday was a day to remember on Capitol Hill. Hundreds of newly-elected House lawmakers brought their families and loved ones to witness the opening day of the 188th Congress, during which these members-elect were scheduled to be sworn-in.

But things didn’t go exactly to plan. The House ended up adjourning yesterday afternoon without swearing in a single member, after lawmakers held three consecutive failed votes for Speaker of the House for the first time in a century.

☝️ First things first: To be elected as speaker, a lawmaker must be chosen by the majority of House members, or at least 218 votes. Republicans currently have a 222–213 majority over Democrats in the chamber.

Heading into yesterday, the favorite to become House Speaker was Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-NY), who had served as the GOP’s House Minority Leader since 2019.

• But McCarthy’s bid fell short in all three rounds of voting, with 19 – or 20 – Republican House members selecting other GOP candidates, and all 212 Democrats present backing Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

🏛️ Why it’s a big deal: Until a leader is elected, the House is unable to perform any of its duties. Members can't be sworn in, since their oath of office is administered by the speaker. This means the House can't set rules to govern itself, and also can't consider legislation or create committee assignments.

👀 Looking ahead… The House will meet again at noon today to keep holding ballots until someone gets a majority of votes. And if history is any indication, they could be at it for a while – in 1856, it took two months and 133 ballots for the chamber to finally elect a speaker.

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