The Speaker of the House is elected by a roll-call vote of the full House at the start of each new Congress, or whenever the office becomes vacant. Each member says a name out loud, and the winner needs a majority of the votes cast for a named person. With all 435 members present and voting for someone, that’s 218, but absences and “present” votes lower the number. If no one reaches a majority, the House votes again, as many times as it takes.
The next regular Speaker election comes at the start of the 120th Congress in January 2027, after the November 3, 2026 midterms decide which party holds the majority.
Step 1: How do the parties pick their nominees? #
In the weeks after a November election, each party’s members meet privately. The House Republican Conference and the House Democratic Caucus each vote on a candidate for Speaker.
- The majority party’s nominee is the presumptive Speaker, but winning inside the party doesn’t guarantee winning on the floor. A handful of defections can sink a nominee when the majority is narrow.
- The minority party’s nominee almost always loses the floor vote and becomes minority leader.
Because the majority is decided at the ballot box, the Speaker race really starts with the midterms. A House split by only a few seats gives small groups of members enormous leverage over their own party’s candidate.
Step 2: How does the floor vote work? #
A new Congress begins on January 3 under the 20th Amendment, unless Congress sets a different date by law. January 3, 2027 falls on a Sunday, so watch for Congress to set the exact date. The Speaker election is the first real business; until there’s a Speaker, members-elect can’t be sworn in and the House can’t do anything else.
- The Clerk presides. The Clerk of the House from the previous Congress runs the session.
- Nominations. Each party’s conference or caucus chair nominates its candidate from the floor. Other names can be nominated too.
- Roll call. The Clerk calls each member-elect alphabetically, and each responds with a name or “present.”
- Tally. The winner needs a majority of the votes cast for a person by name.
Members can vote for anyone, including people who aren’t in the House. Protest votes for other members or outside figures happen in contested years.
Why isn’t 218 always the magic number? #
The threshold is a majority of votes cast for named candidates, so it moves.
| Situation | Votes for named candidates | Majority needed |
|---|---|---|
| All 435 seats filled, everyone names someone | 435 | 218 |
| 3 vacancies, everyone else names someone | 432 | 217 |
| All seats filled, 5 members vote “present” | 430 | 216 |
| 2 members absent, 3 vote “present” | 430 | 216 |
Voting “present” is a way for a member to avoid backing their party’s nominee without voting for the other side. It lowers the bar for whoever is leading. That’s how Kevin McCarthy finally won in January 2023: several holdouts voted present on the 15th ballot.
What happens if no one wins on the first ballot? #
The House votes again, and keeps voting. Between ballots, members can vote to adjourn and negotiate in private.
- 1855–56: The longest contest took 133 ballots over two months before Nathaniel Banks won.
- 1923: Nine ballots, the last multi-ballot contest for a century.
- January 2023: Kevin McCarthy needed 15 ballots over four days, after agreeing to rules changes demanded by holdouts, including making it easier to force a vote to remove the Speaker.
- October 2023: After McCarthy was removed, the House went three weeks without a Speaker while several nominees failed. Mike Johnson was elected on October 25, 2023.
- January 3, 2025: Johnson was re-elected on the first ballot with exactly 218 votes, after two Republicans who initially voted for other people switched before the result was announced.
During a deadlock, the leading candidate usually trades promises for votes: committee seats, votes on specific bills, or changes to House rules.
Does the Speaker have to be a member of the House? #
The Constitution only says “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers” (Article I, Section 2). It doesn’t require a member. In practice, every Speaker in history has been a sitting House member.
Can the Speaker be removed? #
Yes, through a motion to vacate the chair. If a majority of those voting agree, the office is vacant and the House must elect a new Speaker. The rules on who can force that vote have changed:
- In the 118th Congress (2023–24), any single member could force a vote. Matt Gaetz used it to remove McCarthy on October 3, 2023, by a vote of 216 to 210, the first time a Speaker was ever removed this way. A 2024 attempt against Johnson was tabled 359 to 43.
- In the 119th Congress (2025–27), the House rules require the motion to be offered by a member of the majority party with eight cosponsors from the majority party before it gets a privileged, forced vote.
When the chair is vacant, a Speaker pro tempore from a confidential list the Speaker gives the Clerk can preside, mainly to run the election of a new Speaker.
What does the Speaker actually control? #
- The floor. The Speaker decides which bills get a vote and when, working through the Rules Committee.
- Committees. The Speaker’s party leadership shapes committee assignments and chairs.
- Referrals and rulings. The Speaker refers bills to committees and rules on points of order.
- Succession. Under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the Speaker is second in line to the presidency after the vice president.
That power is why a close House majority matters so much, and why the fight over the gavel can begin within hours of the polls closing.
How the 2026 midterms set up the next Speaker election #
The House is closely divided heading into November, so a shift of a few seats decides which party’s nominee becomes Speaker in 2027, and how much leverage small blocs have. For a sense of the national House environment, Election Tracker, our free iPhone app, shows a 30-day average of generic congressional ballot polls on its House tab, and read-only prediction-market prices for House control on its Market Sentiment tab. It doesn’t cover individual districts; our guide to tracking the 2026 House races covers the other tools.
A vacancy doesn’t always wait for a new Congress, either. Deaths and resignations change the math mid-session; see how congressional vacancies are filled. And the weeks between the election and the new Congress bring their own maneuvering, covered in our explainer on the lame-duck session.
Frequently asked questions #
How often is the Speaker of the House elected? #
At the start of every Congress, so every two years in January of odd-numbered years. A new election also happens mid-session if the Speaker resigns, dies or is removed.
How many votes does it take to become Speaker? #
A majority of the votes cast for a named person. With all 435 members present and voting for someone, that’s 218. Vacancies, absences and “present” votes lower the number.
Who is the current Speaker of the House? #
Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, elected in October 2023 and re-elected in January 2025. The next Speaker election is at the start of the 120th Congress in January 2027.
Does the president choose the Speaker? #
No. The Speaker is chosen only by the House. Presidents often lobby members of their party, but they have no formal role.
Can someone who isn’t in Congress be Speaker? #
Technically yes, since the Constitution doesn’t require it, and outsiders occasionally receive protest votes. No non-member has ever been elected.