Discussion
RE: https://mastodon.online/@mastodonmigration/117617818111033001
So, despite what you may have read being circulated by Schumer's people this morning, Sen. Ron Wyden (OR) is not in the Schumer camp. His vote is still undeclared and will go to whomever is best suited to deliver Medicare For All. Who do you think that is? 🙋♂️
@temptoetiam In both cases, House and Senate, it is a vote of the caucuses of the next congress. That is, those who will be Senators and Representatives come January.
In the case of the Senate it is a secret vote of the caucus not before Dec 1. However, Schumer is rumored to be thinking about trying to get the rule changed to move the vote up to next week. This too would require a secret vote, though perhaps only of those in the current caucus.
1/
In the case of the House it is more complicated. The vote for Speaker is an open vote on the floor and involves all Representatives Dem and Republican. The Speaker must receive a majority of the quorum. However, the Dem Caucus has another rule (Rule 34) that they will meet in secret before the floor vote and vote, and the caucus members are then bound to vote unanimously on the floor for whomever gets the majority. So, effectively it is also a majority vote of the caucus.
2/
In theory any member could not join in and vote for whomever they want on the floor, but that would mean violating caucus rules and probably being expelled from the party, so that's not going to happen.
@mastodonmigration silly European question : this is the *current* senators voting, right?
What about the House, for speaker?
Won't the newly elected Democrats have a voice ?