Briefing: How the Speaker's Vacancy Impacts Senior Living Policy

The U.S. House of Representatives has been without a speaker since October 3, when the chamber voted 216-210 on a motion to vacate, and thereby removed Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker. An effort by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to replace McCarthy failed last week after three votes on the floor with increasing Republican opposition, and the party voted internally to remove him as their nominee. This has effectively paralyzed half of Congress, as the House is unable to conduct legislative business until it elects a new speaker.

Nine House Republicans have since filed paperwork to run for speaker, and will pitch their candidacy at an internal party forum tonight. The caucus will then vote tomorrow morning to select a nominee, who will square off against the Democratic nominee, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, in a vote on the floor expected later this week.

• Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), who serves in leadership as the House Majority Whip, and is next in-line in party leadership after Majority Leader Steve Scalise;
• Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), who serves as chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus among House Republicans;
• Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), who sought the Republicans speaker nomination on October 13 against Jordan, but was defeated by a vote of 124-81;
• Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), a House Freedom Caucus member who was nominated for speaker during multiple rounds in the January vote by Republican opponents of McCarthy;
• Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), who serves as Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference and previously chaired the Republican Study Committee;
• Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), who was first elected to the House in 1996, defeated in 2018, then elected again in 2020;
• Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), a House Freedom Caucus member and Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee;
• Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), a fourth-term lawmaker and retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general;
• Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), a third term lawmaker and former home medical equipment executive.

Argentum is closely monitoring developments in the effort to elect a new House speaker. While legislation cannot be brought to the floor for consideration or a vote, it doesn't mean that all progress is stalled on our legislative priorities. The House continues to hold hearings in committees, including a hearing scheduled for this Wednesday, October 25, that will feature H.R. 1477, an Argentum-supported bill to allow more Americans to access education savings accounts to pay for career development programs.

Argentum is also making progress advancing H.R. 1815, a bill to establish a pilot program for Veterans to choose assisted living instead of skilled nursing, as lawmakers consider priorities for inclusion in an end-of-year package. And we are increasingly closer to reintroducing the SENIOR Act and a bill providing grants to help foster intergenerational activities in assisted living communities.

Argentum Advocates are invited to join us for our monthly policy briefing, this Wednesday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m. ET to learn more about our end-of-year legislative push and how the process has been impacted by the House speaker vacancy.

Argentum Advocates Member Briefing
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
2:00 PM ET

This session is open only to members of Argentum Advocates. Thank you for your participation in Argentum Advocates. We look forward to seeing you this Wednesday!