The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the most powerful person in the House. They are the leader of the House, the head of the majority party, and the second in line to the presidency.
The Speaker has many important jobs, including:
- Presiding over debates
- Setting the agenda for the House
- Appointing members to committees
- Representing the House in negotiations with the Senate and the President
- The Speaker is also responsible for maintaining order in the House and enforcing its rules.
The Speaker is elected by the members of the House at the beginning of each new Congress. The Speaker is usually the leader of the majority party, but this is not required.
The Speaker is a powerful position, and it has been held by some of the most famous names in American history, including Henry Clay, Sam Rayburn, and Tip O'Neill.
Here is the list of all the Speakers of the US House of Representatives:
| Congress | Year | Name |
| 1st | (1789–1791) | Frederick Muhlenberg |
| 2nd | (1791–1793) | Jonathan Trumbull Jr. |
| 3rd | (1793–1795) | Frederick Muhlenberg |
| 4th | (1795–1797) | Jonathan Dayton |
| 5th | (1797–1799) | Jonathan Dayton |
| 6th | (1799–1801) | Theodore Sedgwick |
| 7th | (1801–1803) | Nathaniel Macon |
| 8th | (1803–1805) | Nathaniel Macon |
| 9th | (1805–1807) | Nathaniel Macon |
| 10th | (1807–1809) | Joseph Bradley Varnum |
| 11th | (1809–1811) | Joseph Bradley Varnum |
| 12th | (1811–1813) | Henry Clay |
| 13th | (1813–1815) | Henry Clay |
| 13th | (1813–1815) | Langdon Cheves |
| 14th | (1815–1817) | Henry Clay |
| 15th | (1817–1819) | Henry Clay |
| 16th | (1819–1821) | Henry Clay |
| 16th | (1819–1821) | John W. Taylor |
| 17th | (1821–1823) | Philip P. Barbour |
| 18th | (1823–1825) | Henry Clay |
| 19th | (1825–1827) | John W. Taylor |
| 20th | (1827–1829) | Andrew Stevenson |
| 21st | (1829–1831) | Andrew Stevenson |
| 22nd | (1831–1833) | Andrew Stevenson |
| 23rd | (1833–1835) | Andrew Stevenson |
| 23rd | (1833–1835) | John Bell |
| 24th | (1835–1837) | James K. Polk |
| 25th | (1837–1839) | James K. Polk |
| 26th | (1839–1841) | Robert M. T. Hunter |
| 27th | (1841–1843) | John White |
| 28th | (1843–1845) | John Winston Jones |
| 29th | (1845–1847) | John Wesley Davis |
| 30th | (1847–1849) | Robert Charles Winthrop |
| 31st | (1849–1851) | Howell Cobb |
| 32nd | (1851–1853) | Linn Boyd |
| 33rd | (1853–1855) | Linn Boyd |
| 34th | (1855–1857) | Nathaniel P. Banks |
| 35th | (1857–1859) | James Lawrence Orr |
| 36th | (1859–1861) | William Pennington |
| 37th | (1861–1863) | Galusha A. Grow |
| 38th | (1863–1865) | Schuyler Colfax |
| 39th | (1865–1867) | Schuyler Colfax |
| 40th | (1867–1869) | Schuyler Colfax |
| 40th | (1867–1869) | Theodore M. Pomeroy |
| 41st | (1869–1871) | James G. Blaine |
| 42nd | (1871–1873) | James G. Blaine |
| 43rd | (1873–1875) | James G. Blaine |
| 44th | (1875–1877) | Michael C. Kerr |
| 44th | (1875–1877) | Samuel J. Randall |
| 45th | (1877–1879) | Samuel J. Randall |
| 46th | (1879–1881) | Samuel J. Randall |
| 47th | (1881–1883) | J. Warren Keifer |
| 48th | (1883–1885) | John G. Carlisle |
| 49th | (1885–1887) | John G. Carlisle |
| 50th | (1887–1889) | John G. Carlisle |
| 51st | (1889–1891) | Thomas Brackett Reed |
| 52nd | (1891–1893) | Charles Frederick Crisp |
| 53rd | (1893–1895) | Charles Frederick Crisp |
| 54th | (1895–1897) | Thomas Brackett Reed |
| 55th | (1897–1899) | Thomas Brackett Reed |
| 56th | (1899–1901) | David B. Henderson |
| 57th | (1901–1903) | David B. Henderson |
| 58th | (1903–1905) | Joseph Gurney Cannon |
| 59th | (1905–1907) | Joseph Gurney Cannon |
| 60th | (1907–1909) | Joseph Gurney Cannon |
| 61st | (1909–1911) | Joseph Gurney Cannon |
| 62nd | (1911–1913) | Champ Clark |
| 63rd | (1913–1915) | Champ Clark |
| 64th | (1915–1917) | Champ Clark |
| 65th | (1917–1919) | Champ Clark |
| 66th | (1919–1921) | Frederick H. Gillett |
| 67th | (1921–1923) | Frederick H. Gillett |
| 68th | (1923–1925) | Frederick H. Gillett |
| 69th | (1925–1927) | Nicholas Longworth |
| 70th | (1927–1929) | Nicholas Longworth |
| 71st | (1929–1931) | Nicholas Longworth |
| 72nd | (1931–1933) | John Nance Garner |
| 73rd | (1933–1935) | Henry Thomas Rainey |
| 74th | (1935–1937) | Jo Byrns |
| 74th | (1935–1937) | William B. Bankhead |
| 75th | (1937–1939) | William B. Bankhead |
| 76th | (1939–1941) | William B. Bankhead |
| 76th | (1939–1941) | Sam Rayburn |
| 77th | (1941–1943) | Sam Rayburn |
| 78th | (1943–1945) | Sam Rayburn |
| 79th | (1945–1947) | Sam Rayburn |
| 80th | (1947–1949) | Joseph W. Martin Jr. |
| 81st | (1949–1951) | Sam Rayburn |
| 82nd | (1951–1953) | Sam Rayburn |
| 83rd | (1953–1955) | Joseph W. Martin Jr. |
| 84th | (1955–1957) | Sam Rayburn |
| 85th | (1957–1959) | Sam Rayburn |
| 86th | (1959–1961) | Sam Rayburn |
| 87th | (1961–1963) | Sam Rayburn |
| 87th | (1961–1963) | John W. McCormack |
| 88th | (1963–1965) | John W. McCormack |
| 89th | (1965–1967) | John W. McCormack |
| 90th | (1967–1969) | John W. McCormack |
| 91st | (1969–1971) | John W. McCormack |
| 92nd | (1971–1973) | Carl Albert |
| 93rd | (1973–1975) | Carl Albert |
| 94th | (1975–1977) | Carl Albert |
| 95th | (1977–1979) | Tip O'Neill |
| 96th | (1979–1981) | Tip O'Neill |
| 97th | (1981–1983) | Tip O'Neill |
| 98th | (1983–1985) | Tip O'Neill |
| 99th | (1985–1987) | Tip O'Neill |
| 100th | (1987–1989) | Jim Wright |
| 101st | (1989–1991) | Jim Wright |
| 101st | (1989–1991) | Tom Foley |
| 102nd | (1991–1993) | Tom Foley |
| 103rd | (1993–1995) | Tom Foley |
| 104th | (1995–1997) | Newt Gingrich |
| 105th | (1997–1999) | Newt Gingrich |
| 106th | (1999–2001) | Dennis Hastert |
| 107th | (2001–2003) | Dennis Hastert |
| 108th | (2003–2005) | Dennis Hastert |
| 109th | (2005–2007) | Dennis Hastert |
| 110th | (2007–2009) | Nancy Pelosi |
| 111th | (2009–2011) | Nancy Pelosi |
| 112th | (2011–2013) | John Boehner |
| 113th | (2013–2015) | John Boehner |
| 114th | (2015–2017) | John Boehner |
| 114th | (2015–2017) | Paul Ryan |
| 115th | (2017–2019) | Paul Ryan |
| 116th | (2019–2021) | Nancy Pelosi |
| 117th | (2021–2023) | Nancy Pelosi |
| 118th | (2023–2025) | Kevin McCarthy |
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives is elected by the members of the House. The speaker is the leader of the House and the second in line to the presidency.
The speaker is elected by a majority of votes cast, not a majority of the full membership of the House. This means that the speaker can be elected even if some members of the House do not vote.
If no candidate receives a majority vote, the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected.
The speaker does not have to be an incumbent member of the House, but all speakers thus far have been.
Altogether, 55 individuals, from 23 states, have served as speaker of the House. The office is currently vacant following the outcome of the vote to vacate on October 3, 2023, conducted during the 118th Congress.
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