Ever since Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced his decision to retire at the end of his term this year, there has been much talk and speculation about who will replace him in 2019.  This is not just an election to determine who is in the line of Presidential succession, but affects the actual legislation that matters to Americans, including senior citizens.

While the Speaker of the House is “elected by the whole of the House of Representatives, the Speaker acts as leader of the House and combines several roles: the institutional role of presiding officer and administrative head of the House, the role of leader of the majority party in the House, and the representative role of an elected member of the House. The Speaker of the House is second in line to succeed the President, after the Vice President.”  However, the real power of this position is that the Speaker determines the House legislative agenda and decides which legislation is assigned to each committee and which will reach the House floor for a vote.  Given the latter, it is critical that we know where the candidates stand on issues of importance to seniors.

Keep in mind that the Speaker of the House is chosen from among the party that controls Congress, traditionally via a roll call vote per party.  So, as Republicans are in control now of the House now, there is more attention being given to the Republican candidates, but we will do our best to stay on top of all candidates as they reveal themselves over the coming months.

The current list of Republican names being floated for Speaker are –

•  Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the House Majority Leader and ran for Speaker in 2015.  Since then he has worked hard to position himself in a more favorable light among conservatives and in fact has the support of the bulk of the existing GOP establishment.
•  Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) is the House Minority Whip and has publicly said he could support Rep McCarthy, but has not ruled out running this year or in the future for the role of Speaker.
•  Representative Jim Jordan (R-NY) is the House Freedom Caucus founder and is supported by many active conservative grassroots organizations.

For the most part, it is expected that the field of Democrats will be much larger and more contentious than the Republicans and most are choosing not to declare their intentions this early.  The following is just one list of possible names –

•  Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was the former Speaker of the House and many feel that it is time for new blood while others support her experience and fight.
•  Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has been Rep Pelosi’s number 2 for 15 years and is equally well-known, but comes with many of the same issues.
•  Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) is the 3rd ranking Democrat in Congress and the highest ranking African-American.  This could go a long way towards solidifying the minority vote.
• Representative Joseph Crowley (D- NY) is the chair of the Democratic Caucus and has been spending the last years generating support and favor among his peers.

This list will continue to change up until the day of the actual election in November.  We will work to see where each of these candidates and others stand on entitlement reform among other issues.