    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 105th Congress]
    [105th Congress]
    [House Document 104-272]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 341-342]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                    Rule II.

                              election of officers.

    Sec. 635. Election, oath, and removal of
    officers.

      There  shall be elected by a viva voce vote, at the commencement of
    each Congress, to continue in office until their successors are chosen
    and qualified, a Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Chief Administrative Officer,
    and Chaplain, each of whom shall take an oath to support the
    Constitution of the United States, and for the true and faithful
    discharge of the duties of his office to the best of his knowledge and
    ability, and to keep the secrets of the House; and each shall appoint
    all of the employees of his department provided for by law. The Clerk,
    Sergeant-at-Arms, and Chief Administrative Officer may be removed by the
    House or by the Speaker.

    [[Page 342]]

    a discussion of the former Office
    of the Doorkeeper, see Sec. 651d, infra; and for a discussion of the
    evolution of the Chief Administrative Officer (an elected officer) from
    the former Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services (an
    officer appointed jointly by the Speaker and the Majority and Minority
    Leaders under clause 1 of rule VI of the 103d Congress), see Sec. 651e,
    infra.
      A rudimentary form of this rule was adopted in 1789, and was amended
    several times prior to 1880, when it assumed the form it retained for
    more than a century (I, 187). During the 102d Congress, section 2 of the
    House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 amended the rule to
    abolish the office of the Postmaster (see Sec. 654a, infra) and to
    empower the Speaker to remove elected officers (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9,
    1992, p. ----). The 104th Congress made conforming changes to the rule
    to reflect the abolishment of the Office of the Doorkeeper and the
    establishment of an elected Chief Administrative Officer (sec. 201(a),
    H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). For

      The House having discarded a theory that the rules might be imposed by
    one House on its successor (V, 6743-6745), it follows that this rule is
    not operative at the organization. The House, by order or usage, elects
    its Speaker viva voce on a roll call (I, 204, 208); but the officers
    mentioned in the rule are usually chosen by resolution, which is not a
    viva voce election (I, 193, 194). A majority vote is required for the
    election of officers of both Houses of Congress (VI, 23). The act of
    1789 provides that the oath of office shall be administered to the
    Speaker by any Member and by the Speaker to the Clerk (I, 130). The
    Speaker also at the same time administers the oath to the other elective
    officers (I, 81). The Member of longest continuous service has
    traditionally administered the oath to the Speaker (I, 131). However, on
    some occasions the Speaker has selected the Member to administer the
    oath (VI, 6, 7). The requirement that the officers be sworn to keep the
    secrets of the House had become obsolete (I, 187), but the 104th
    Congress adopted a requirement that Members, officers, and employees
    subscribe an oath of secrecy regarding classified information (clause 13
    of rule XLIII).

      The House has declined to interfere with the Clerk's power of removing
    his subordinates (I, 249). Employees under the clerk and other officers
    are to be assigned only to the duties for which they are appointed (V,
    7232). The Sergeant-at-Arms having died, the Clerk was elected by the
    House to serve temporarily also as Sergeant-at-Arms without additional
    compensation (July 8, 1953, p. 8242). The Legislative Reorganization Act
    of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 75a-1) authorizes the Speaker to fill temporary
    vacancies in the offices of Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Chief
    Administrative Officer, and Chaplain. A former version of the Act also
    permitted temporary appointments to the former offices of Doorkeeper and
    Postmaster. The Speaker has exercised his authority to fill temporary
    vacancies in the offices of Sergeant-at-Arms (Jan. 6, 1954, p. 8; June
    30, 1972, p. 23665; Feb. 28, 1980, p. 4350; and Mar. 12, 1992, p. ----),
    Clerk (Nov. 15, 1975, p. 36901), Chaplain (Mar. 14, 1966, p. 5712),
    Doorkeeper (Dec. 20, 1974, p. 41855), and Chief Administrative Officer
    (Jan. 9, 1997, p. ----). A resolution electing a House officer is
    presented as a question of privilege (July 31, 1997, p. ----).