when they were all supposed to be "sworn in". Yet the Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms and some others WERE sworn in (not in the normal order but done nonetheless BEFORE there was any "Speaker of the House" ). And that Clerk of the House shepherded the proceedings along.
In fact, it took 15 votes to get a SOH (I watched the whole damn thing on CSPAN - gavel-to-gavel) while there were "no Rules" either.
And you need to read the subthread to explain to you how the SOH has NOTHING to do with the "Electoral Count" process.
You can start here and read on down - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143364393#post14
The link to a Roll Call (magazine) article was introduced in that above-linked post - https://rollcall.com/2024/12/24/protracted-gop-speaker-fight-could-complicate-electoral-college-count/
(Roll Call monitors and reports on the actions of Congress and also publishes the "Congressional Quarterly", which is a subscription service discussing the proceedings of Congress)
(snip)
Posted December 24, 2024 at 12:03pm
Lingering ill will among House Republicans after another messy spending fight could complicate Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to retain the House gavel — and potentially the Jan. 6 formalizing of Donald Trump’s election victory.
As president of the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris would be the presiding officer during a joint session of Congress that day to complete the American presidential election process. It is a constitutional duty that essentially requires her to oversee the certification of her 2024 rival’s decisive victory.
To get to a swift and professional counting session, the House on Jan. 3 — or perhaps in the following two days — would need to elect a speaker, who would then administer the oath of office to the newly elected and reelected members.
If a protracted speaker fight lasts beyond 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, congressional scholars agree there are procedural options that could help ensure the counting and certifying of Electoral College votes that day.
(snip)
What I highlighted is ALL you need to focus on. The media wants to repeat the "clown show" of multiple votes, and 45 wants "his guy" in there, which is irrelevant to the certification process.
THE PRESIDING OFFICE OF THE CHAMBER FOR THIS SPECIAL SESSION WILL BE THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
There is no "legislative business" that the House really does when it comes to the Electoral Count. They are the "host" of a Joint Session of Congress. The one thing they would need to do, which was speculated on how it could be done, is appointing "Tellers" to tally on behalf the House (where the Senate does the same). That process is directed by a "presiding officer" (not necessarily a SOH for the House's purpose) and could be done by some unanimous consent motion or resolution.
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