Speaker of the House

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Speaker of the House is the leader of the United States House of Representatives in the government of the United States. He or she is elected by the current members of the House and the person with the most votes becomes Speaker. The Speaker is always a member of the majority party (the party with the most members). The job of the Speaker is to keep the House in order and to assign committee memberships and chairmanships. It is a powerful position in government.

The Speaker of the House is third in line for the Presidency of the United States. If the President of the United States dies or cannot carry out his office, the Vice President of the United States becomes President. If the Vice President also dies or cannot carry out his office, the Speaker of the House automatically becomes the next President.

The current Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi of California, a Democrat. She is the first woman to be Speaker of the House.