The new session of Congress is off to a rocky start. Despite having a slim majority in the House of Representatives, Republicans have failed for two days and counting to confirm one of their own as speaker of the House. As Democrats sit united behind House Minority Leader New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who will make history as the first Black party leader in Congress, Republican infighting has left the House in chaos and unable to function.
In the absence of a speaker, the disorder in the House has accidentally created another historic moment, leaving a Black woman, Cheryl Johnson, in charge of the chamber for the first time in history.
A longtime public servant
Johnson, originally from New Orleans, graduated from the University of Iowa, Howard University and Harvard University. She has worked in Washington for over 30 years, including 10 years at the Smithsonian Institute and 20 years in various positions within the House of Representatives. In 2019, Johnson was appointed clerk of the House. She is the second Black woman to serve in the role, following Lorraine Miller.
Thrust into a new leadership role
As described on the House of Representatives website, the clerk position becomes an administrative and records-keeping role primarily after choosing a speaker and swearing new members of Congress into office. Since that hasn’t happened, Johnson is the official in charge of House proceedings. The Constitution and House rules specify that the chamber cannot perform its functions — making committee assignments, holding hearings, passing legislation and so on — until a speaker is chosen. Johnson’s job has thus been to preside over that process, which has not been resolved after the first vote for the first time in 100 years. With six failed votes for speaker already, Johnson’s voice has been the one that House watchers have repeatedly heard announce, “a speaker has not been elected.”
The latest in a set of unprecedented circumstances
Johnson’s current role running the House is the latest twist in her tenure as clerk; she has faced circumstances unlike any other in the history of the job. First, Johnson has participated in two impeachment proceedings and endured the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. Now, she is in the rare position of presiding over a speakerless House of Representatives until someone finally wins the part.
Johnson’s role has not gone unnoticed on Capitol Hill. On Thursday morning, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., tweeted, “I want to thank Cheryl Johnson for her public service!” The sentiment reflects her previous two days of work and her last two decades in Washington, D.C.
I want to thank Cheryl Johnson for her public service! https://t.co/R3OS2kBjix
— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) January 5, 2023
Who knows how long it will take to elect a new speaker of the House? But, until the time comes, every time Johnson announces, “A speaker has not been elected,” she will continue to make history.
