Happy Thanksgiving! This is Daniel Allott with The Hill's Top Opinions.
Nancy Pelosi will no longer be Speaker of the House come Jan. 3, when the 118th Congress is sworn in. But she could nominate a successor, writes former congressional aide Alton Frye.
Although it's never been done before, the U.S. Constitution allows for a Speaker who is not a member of the House of Representatives. Which is why some MAGA Republicans are reportedly thinking about nominating former President Trump as Speaker.
A much better idea, says Frye, is for Pelosi to persuade her colleagues to propose a distinguished Republican for the role.
For Democrats, Frye writes, "the proposal would present a clear choice between working with an independent Republican Speaker open to bipartisan cooperation and facing protracted friction with an intensely partisan leader, presumably Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), captive to the most extreme faction within the Republican caucus."
The prospective leader would need to be someone respected by Republicans and Democrats alike. Frye offers former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as possibilities.
Whomever it is, Frye believes the act, "must be framed not to exploit the evident divisions among the Republican caucus but rather to open the way for members in both parties who recognize the nation's urgent need to replace the hyper-partisan strife that has deformed public discourse."
What would such an arrangement produce?
A non-member Speaker would not be able to vote on legislation and would have to defer to party leaders in doing various things, such as setting committee assignments. But he would "derive his power setting the agenda for floor action on legislation, discouraging ideological showboating and encouraging partisan compromise."
Ultimately, promoting a distinguished Republican alternative for Speaker would be a feather in the cap of Pelosi's distinguished career. And if she can rally her side to accept such an offer, says Frye, "it would require only a handful of Republicans to judge that such a tradeoff is in the nation's interest and in their own."
Read Frye's op-ed here.
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