Articles on Speaker of the House

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Supporters on primary election night in New York, June 23, 2026, cheer winning candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democrat and member of the Democratic Socialists of America running for the House. Seth Wenig/AP Photo

From the Freedom Caucus to the democratic socialists, small groups inside parties can wreak havoc with leaders’ agenda in Congress

What role might DSA-affiliated candidates play if they win election to Congress in the midterms and the Democrats gain a majority in the House of Representatives?
House Speaker Mike Johnson has given a lot of effort to pushing the agenda of President Donald Trump. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Speaker Johnson’s choice to lead by following the president goes against 200 years of House speakers building up the office’s power

The founders’ vision of the speaker of the House – a nonpartisan moderator and referee – has yielded to a far more powerful position. But has Speaker Mike Johnson given away his chamber’s power?
Would term limits lead to a more effective and less polarized Congress? Andrey Denisyuk/Getty Images

Term limits aren’t the answer

Very few Americans believe Congress is doing a good job. Some of them have a simple solution: Throw the bums out and institute term limits. But that creates more problems than it solves.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the US Capitol on Dec. 5, 2023. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Ex‑Speaker McCarthy’s departure from Congress reads like Greek tragedy – but stars a ‘slight unmeritable man’ and not a hero

Kevin McCarthy, the only speaker of the House to be ousted, has quit Congress. The ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as Shakespeare, understood the price of ambition like McCarthy’s: humiliation.

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