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How about a neutral, nonpartisan Speaker? [1]

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Date: 2023-10-13  

As the House Republicans continue demonstrating their incapacity to govern or to act more mature than a cranky two-year-old, the House speakership remains unfilled. This gap in leadership could be closed, however, by looking beyond partisanship and electing a nonpartisan or neutral Speaker, leaving partisan bickering to the members of the Republican and Democratic caucuses of the House.

As commentators have frequently reminded us during the current speakership debacle, the Speaker of the House is a constitutional position (Art. I, § 2, cl. 5): "The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment." As described by the National Constitution Center, "The Founders' vision appeared to be for the Speaker to serve as a parliamentarian and peace maker, more along the lines of the Speaker in the British House of Commons."

A return to the notion of the Speaker as "a parliamentarian and peace maker" provides an exit ramp from the current stalemate. Two organizations -- the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) and the American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP) -- specialize in educating and training members and the public about parliamentary procedure, which includes presiding over meetings of deliberative bodies ranging from meetings of homeowners associations to conventions with thousands of delegates. Both NAP and AIP award credentials to members who, through education and experience, achieve levels of expertise in parliamentary procedure and meeting management. For NAP, the highest credential is Professional Registered Parliamentarian, or PRP; for AIP, the corresponding credential is Certified Professional Parliamentarian, or CPP. Some parliamentarians hold both of those credentials. And because many credentialed parliamentarians serve as presiding officers of organizations, they have significant experience dealing with cantakerous and disruptive members.

The Speaker does not have to be a member of the House: “Although the Constitution does not require the Speaker (or any other officer of either chamber) to be a Member, the Speaker has always been so” (p. 4). Choosing a nonmember Speaker with the training and skills reflected in the PRP and CPP credentials could remove the rancor both from the process of selecting a Speaker of the House (the process could become more meritocratic than political) and from the conduct of the business of the House as a whole. As a nonpartisan or neutral participant in the workings of the House, a PRP or CPP Speaker could fulfill the Founders' conception of the Speaker as both a parliamentarian (without usurping the chamber’s official parliamentarian) and a peace maker, as someone without a vested interest in a particular outcome who could both manage the House and likewise help the partisans manage their disagreements in a way that allows the House to accomplish the work the public needs done.

The Republican and Democratic leaders in the House should return to the Founders' vision: elect a Speaker of the House who would serve as a neutral, nonpartisan manager and peace maker. A good place to start would be looking to NAP and AIP for assistance in making that choice.

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