When the 118th United States Congress convenes on January 3 2023, the first order of business for the House of Representatives is to elect a new speaker.
The current frontrunner for this powerful position is California Republican Kevin McCarthy. But McCarthy’s path to the speakership is not guaranteed, and could be sabotaged from within his own Republican caucus.
In November’s midterms, Republicans won control of the House with 222 seats to the Democrats’ 213. Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House who served from 2007 to 2011 and then again from 2019, will step down in January. Typically, the party which has the majority in the House chooses its leading figure to become speaker.
