Congressional Funnies

From nakedcapitalism.com:

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Failing to Elect a House Speaker Quickly” [Chad Pergram, Thread Reader]. Original. Sounds like a pretty big deal: “This is the breakdown when the Congress starts: 219 Republicans to 214 Democrats…. The Speaker of the House must win an outright majority of all Members casting ballots for someone by name. In other words, the person with the most votes does not win… So let’s crunch the math for Mike Johnson. If there are 219 Republicans and four vote for someone besides him – and all Democrats cast ballots for Jeffries, the tally is 215-214. But there’s no Speaker. No one attained an outright majority of all Members casting ballots for someone by name. 218 is the magic number if all 434 Members vote. By rule, this paralyzes the House. The House absolutely, unequivocally, cannot do anything until it elects a Speaker. Period. The House can’t swear-in Members. Technically, they’re still Representatives-elect. Only after the House chooses its Speaker does he or she in turn swear-in the membership. The House certainly can’t pass legislation. It can’t form committees. It’s frozen in a parliamentary paralysis until it elects a Speaker…. This also means that the House cannot certify the results of the Electoral College, making President-elect Trump the 47th President of the United States on January 6. The failure to elect a Speaker compels the House to vote over and over….” Much more on possible scenarios in the complete thread. Chuck Grassley, Senate President Tempore, is fourth in line for the Presidency: “If the House is still frittering away time, trying to elect a Speaker on January 20, Grassley likely becomes ‘Acting President.'” • Could be entertaining! And today’s House has not had a good record picking Speakers in a timely and non-acrimonious mannner. Maybe the people floating Elon Musk for Speaker had these scenarios gamed out?