[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. ----).