That raises the interesting question if a non-member can even be elected to the Speaker's chair. It has never happened before, of course, and, as far as I know, the Constitution is silent on the question. It merely says that the "The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers;and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment." (Article I, section 2, clause 4). It does not specifically say that the Speaker must be an elected member of the House. Nor does it say that the Speaker need not be a member.neeneko wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:03 pmOn the other hand, I would love to see some subset of house republicans try. I imagine their attempt to sit a non-congress critter as speaker would fail, even with a republican majority, but the infighting and drama would be really amusing.Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 11:21 am I’m horrified to hear there’s a push to make him speaker if Thugs retake the House.
I am not a Constitutional scholar, but I have to believe that the founders intended that the Speaker be selected from the House membership, as it has for 242 years.
If he were elected as Speaker, he would have no vote in the House. I'm pretty sure that that privilege is limited to actual members that have been elected by constituents at home.
If the R's were to try such a move, would SCOTUS, as currently constituted, allow it? Would they even take the case or would they punt on the grounds that it is a "political question"?
