Turbulent speaker election delays swearing-in of new members of Congress
Samantha-Jo Roth
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New members of the House of Representatives were not sworn in on the first day of the 118th Congress after lawmakers failed to elect a speaker, delaying any action until at least Wednesday afternoon.
The House voted to adjourn until noon the following day. Many new members brought their family and friends to the House floor to witness the swearing-in, but after multiple rounds of votes, it started to become clear that was not going to happen on Tuesday.
“It is a bummer not having been sworn in. Obviously, my family is all here. At the end of the day, I’m sitting in the House of Representatives, I have on my pin, you know — this is the process,” said Rep.-elect Maxwell Frost (D-FL) to the Washington Examiner outside the House chamber on Tuesday evening.
Frost, soon to be the youngest member of Congress, said he’s worried about how the session will play out after such a turbulent first day.
“What we see is because of their slim majority, they have this emboldened side of their caucus that is able to railroad things,” Frost said. “I think it’s going to put us in a position where there’s going to be no bold, transformational legislation that people are used to for the last two years.”
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The race for speaker has put all of Congress’s official business on hold. Following the election, the speaker-elect was expected to give remarks followed by the swearing-in of members and the adoption of House rules, according to an itinerary.
New House members will not be sworn in until lawmakers elect a speaker. Some newly elected members have already made waves despite not being members of Congress yet. Four of the 20 Republicans who have opposed McCarthy’s bid to become speaker are incoming freshmen: Reps.-elect Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), and Keith Self (R-TX).