House Republicans lost another member in Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., on Friday. Gallagher's departure April 19 will leave Republicans with just one vote to spare on legislation.
There was one occasion in 1849, when a month passed along with 59 failed votes because the Democrats with their narrow majority were divided over slavery. The House voted a speaker based on a plurality vote.
My favorite example was in 1855, where the Second Party System completely collapsed and both parties divided over slavery, you had a situation where multiple parties were elected to the 34th Congress so that no one party had a majority. After 133 rounds of voting over two months, a coalition of antislavery and nativist parties managed to elect a new speaker by a plurality vote.
When was that?
There was one occasion in 1849, when a month passed along with 59 failed votes because the Democrats with their narrow majority were divided over slavery. The House voted a speaker based on a plurality vote.
My favorite example was in 1855, where the Second Party System completely collapsed and both parties divided over slavery, you had a situation where multiple parties were elected to the 34th Congress so that no one party had a majority. After 133 rounds of voting over two months, a coalition of antislavery and nativist parties managed to elect a new speaker by a plurality vote.