Speaker of U.S. House

The majority in the U.S. House hangs in balance. It was teetering this week between Republican control that would usher in a new era of unified GOP governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a Trump second-term White House agenda. A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome. Alabama’s new U.S. House member, Shomari Figures, in district 2 is part of redistricting in the South that could tell the tale.

This Congress started with showy bluster, a bitter 15-round, multi-day spectacle to elect a House speaker, a Republican who vowed to "never quit," and then did just that. The U.S. Senate approved the last military promotions blockaded by Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, ending his months long campaign over the Pentagon’s travel policy related to abortion.

Alabama Congressman-Elect Dale Strong remains a Congressman-Elect after three failed votes to sit a Speaker. The GOP needs to pick a leader before freshman members can be sworn in.

Sam Rayburn ruled as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives during the Franklin Roosevelt-Post Depression and World War II Era...