What Does the Speaker of the House Do?

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is a constitutionally-designated position that presides over the House of Representatives and stands second in the line of presidential succession. The Speaker of the House has broad jurisdiction over the chamber, and thus plays an integral role in the American legislative process.

The Speaker of the House has existed for as long as the United States Congress has been in existence. The Constitution designates the Speaker of the House as second in the line of presidential succession, following the vice president. Per the original rules of the Constitution, only the House of Representatives was directly elected by the people (the Senate was elected by state legislatures), so the Speaker of the House was considered closer to the body politic than the leaders of the Senate.

• The first Speaker of the House was Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, who took office in 1789, the same year George Washington became president.
• Henry Clay of Kentucky was elected Speaker of the House six times between 1811 and 1825. Highlights of his speakership include brokering the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and leading the push to make John Quincy Adams president in the election of 1824.
• The longest-serving Speaker of the House in American history was Sam Rayburn of Texas. Rayburn served nonconsecutive terms between 1940 and 1961. His eventful tenure included much of World War II, the Korean War, the founding of NASA, the start of the Interstate Highway System, the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960.
• While Rayburn had the longest overall tenure, the longest consecutively serving Speaker was Tip O’Neill of Massachusetts, who held the post from 1977 through 1987. He helped oversee the end of America’s role in the Cold War.
• In 2007, Nancy Pelosi of California became the first woman elected as Speaker of the House. She was the first woman to lead either chamber of Congress, as the Senate has not yet had a female majority leader.

Members of the House vote for Speaker in a public ballot via a roll call vote, and representatives almost never cross party lines in this vote. Typically each political party nominates a chosen candidate, but House members are permitted to vote for any member they like. A new Speaker is sworn into office immediately following the vote, and they take the U.S. Representative's oath of office. The winner is all but guaranteed to be the leader of the majority party caucus.

Directly below the Speaker, in terms of House leadership, are the House Majority Leader and the House Majority Whip. Meanwhile, the minority party is led by the House Minority Leader, followed by the House Minority Whip. For example, when Republicans controlled the House from 2011 through 2018, first John Boehner of Ohio and then Paul Ryan of Wisconsin served as Speakers of the House, while Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California served as Minority Leader. When the House returned to Democratic control in 2019, Pelosi became Speaker of the House and her caucus's whip, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, became House Majority Leader.

The Speaker of the House has an array of duties on both an administrative level and a political level.

• Presides over the House: Much as the vice president is the presiding officer of the Senate, the Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the House. They oversee the daily business of the chamber and enforce proper decorum and House rules. When the Speaker is not presiding on the House floor, a Speaker Pro Tempore takes their place. This is a common occurrence in the U.S. Capitol, given the many demands on the Speaker's time.
• Oversees House staff: The Speaker appoints and oversees various non-elected staff in the House of Representatives. This includes the parliamentarian, the historian, the general counsel, the inspector general, the sergeant-at-arms, the clerk, the chief administrative officer, and the House chaplain.
• Sets voting agendas: The Speaker of the House controls the voting schedule in the chamber. They coordinate with other party leaders in the Senate and (when applicable) the White House to shepherd legislation through the congress.
• Provides political leadership: In addition to its administrative duties, the speakership comes with political responsibilities. Speakers of the House serve as the leaders of their own parties. As party leaders, they dole out assignments to conference committees and select committees. Senior members are offered chairs of House committees, which are some of the most powerful positions in the chamber.
• Serves as a political strategist: Beyond Capitol Hill, the Speaker of the House helps lead a national effort to help their party prevail in general elections. They may heavily influence campaign messaging, and they often recruit candidates to run for office in select districts.
• Serves in the line of presidential succession: Per the Constitution, the Speaker of the House is second in the line of succession should the president leave office for any reason. Only the vice president is ahead of the Speaker in this line of succession.

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