POLSCI 318 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Presidential Succession Act, Dennis Hastert, Nancy Pelosi
17 May 2018
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Congress and the President
9.28.16 Reading Notes – DOLS Ch 6 (Leaders and Parties in Congress)
The Speaker of the House
Presidential Succession Act of 1947 – Speaker is next in line after the vice president to succeed to
the presidency
Speakers formally elected by the members of House
o In practice, elected by a majority of the majority party during caucuses
The Changing Role of the Speaker
Speaker’s power derives from House’s majoritarian rules
Before 1890s, minority party used tactics to delay or stop legislative action
In the 1890s, Speaker adopted procedures to facilitate majority action
1910 revolt: Speaker Cannon was perceived to be dictatorial, resulted in revolt
o Reduced Speaker’s authority to select committee members, required House election of
committee members
After 1910 revolt, committee chairs (based on seniority) became more powerful than party
leaders
1970s – Democratic legislators reformed the diffusion of power because they were frustrated by
the conservative tilt of committee chairs
o Limited ability of committee chairs to act independently
▪ Obligated to share power with subcommittee chairs
▪ Chairs elected by secret ballot of the Democratic Caucus
o Strengthened party leadership
▪ Speaker allowed to select members of Rules committee
▪ Speaker allowed to do multiple referrals
Majority party leadership gradually centralized over subsequent congresses
Speaker Newt Gingrich adopted institutional changes that centralized Speaker’s power
o Personally selected committee members/chairs, sometimes ignored seniority
o Imposed 6-year term limit for committee members/chairs
o Party power dominated committee power
Speaker Dennis Hastert – prioritized party preferences, exercised top-down authority
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Speaker John Boehner intended to lead the House more inclusively
o However, stripped committee assignments when members did not vote along party
preferences
The Speaker’s Influence: Style and Context
Political scientists believe that context is more important than style in explaining why certain
party leaders are more powerful in some eras = conditional party government theory
Conditional party government theory – if partisans share common policy views and confront an
opposition party with sharply different policy preferences, then these dual conditions favor
strong, centralized leadership
o When parties grow diverse or differences between parties are reduced, there will not be as
much centralization
Can be used to explain changing role of Speaker
1960s – more inner-party coherence, less ideological agreement between parties + party
realignment diminished regional differences within parties→ explains assertive style of Speakers
during that period
Alternative theory – pivotal voter theory – emphasizes the power of rank-and-file members
(critical members whose votes are important in forming a majority)
o Understanding Congress as a distribution of policy preferences (the median member)
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