Six of the biggest House moments after a historic 2023 in Congress

December 25, 2023 06:30 AM

The year was marked by several significant moments in Congress, with many historic highs and even more historic lows for the House of Representatives in 2023.

The 118th Congress made history shortly after convening on Jan. 3 as the most racially and ethnically diverse House in history, with more than 130 lawmakers (roughly one-quarter of the entire chamber) identifying as black, Asian American, American Indian, Alaska Native, or multiracial. There’s also a record-high number of female lawmakers who were sworn into the House earlier this year, accounting for 28% of all members.

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Aside from its historic demographics, the House has hit several other milestones — although not all of them are ones to be boasted about. Here’s a breakdown of record-breaking moments this year.

15 rounds to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker…

The House began the year with an unprecedented marathon voting session to elect its next speaker, taking 15 rounds of ballots for Kevin McCarthy to clinch the gavel amid pushback from several members of his own party.

McCarthy’s failure to win the speakership right away marked the first time a party leader failed to secure the leadership position on the first ballot since the December 1923 speaker election. The 15 rounds of voting were the longest multi-ballot speaker election since 1859, when William Pennington was elected speaker on the 44th ballot.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during a voting on a motion to adjourn after the 14th vote for speaker in the House chamber as the House meets for the fourth day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

McCarthy was eventually elected on Jan. 7, marking the first time a speaker was selected on a nonlegislative calendar day. McCarthy was finally able to secure the leadership position by making several concessions to some of the most hard-line conservatives in his conference.

… and the House ousts its speaker for the first time

The House voted on Oct. 3 to oust McCarthy from the top leadership position, marking the first time in history lawmakers removed their speaker. The measure, introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), passed in a 216-210 vote after eight Republicans joined all Democrats in backing the effort.

McCarthy said he would not run again for speaker, and the California Republican later resigned from office in December.

Things get physical on the House floor

During the (first) contentious speaker fight while McCarthy was seeking to shore up enough support for the gavel, viewers got rare access to the House floor as lawmakers battled over the leadership position.

Because the House was not yet in session due to the lack of a speaker, C-SPAN was able to air more footage from the House chamber as lawmakers debated who to elevate to the top position — giving viewers a view from the floor that is usually kept from the public eye. And for those who were watching the livestream late at night on Jan. 6, a brawl broke out after Gaetz sunk McCarthy’s bid for the 14th time.

The cameras caught Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) approach Gaetz, prompting Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) to restrain him and cover his mouth. The moment went viral on social media, underscoring the tensions among House lawmakers as the speaker fight dragged on.

Rogers and Gaetz later resolved their disagreements, posting on social media that tensions between the two had eased.

House remains leaderless for three weeks

After McCarthy’s ouster, the House was left speakerless for three weeks, marking the longest time the lower chamber was without a leader since 1962 when it took 55 days to elect a speaker. The House eventually elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as its new speaker on Oct. 25, ending the 21-day period of stalled action in the lower chamber.

That three-week period had its slew of historic moments. The October vote series was the fourth longest time it has ever taken to elect a speaker, coming in at a total of nine days. That overtook the record set just months earlier when it took five days to elect McCarthy.

The two successful speakership elections also mark the first time it has taken multiple ballots to elect a speaker more than once in a single year.

House ousts George Santos

The House voted on Dec. 1 to oust Rep. George Santos (R-NY), making him only the sixth member to be removed from the lower chamber in U.S. history. Santos was removed in a 311-114 vote, with 105 Republicans voting to support the measure.

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) abruptly left Capitol Hill on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, after the House voted to expel him following an Ethics Committee report detailing evidence of widespread fraud. Santos is the sixth lawmaker ever to be expelled from the House.

The vote came after a monthslong Ethics Committee investigation that concluded Santos had knowingly filed false or incomplete reports to the Federal Election Commission, used campaign funds for personal purposes, and “engaged in knowing and willful violations.”

The report accused Santos of “blatantly” stealing funds by deceiving donors into giving contributions they thought were going toward his campaign but were instead being used “for his personal benefit.” Santos did this by reporting “fictitious loans to his political committees” to incentivize donors to make further contributions but then using those as “repayments” toward his own loans.

Censure upon censure upon censure

Aside from Santos’s removal, the House hit other milestones in terms of punishing its members after three Democrats were censured by the House this year, reaching a threshold not seen in more than 150 years.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was the first in the trio to be censured over the summer. The California Democrat was reprimanded for comments he made while leading the first impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was the next to be censured in November over her pro-Palestinian comments concerning the conflict in Israel, prompting backlash from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Lawmakers also censured Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) in December after he pleaded guilty to falsely pulling a fire alarm in a congressional office building. Caught on security footage, Bowman claimed he yanked the alarm out of “confusion” when a door wouldn’t open in his rush to get to the House floor to vote.

Reps. Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar hold a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on December 7, 2023, to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza. Tlaib was one of three House members censured in 2023.

Bowman was charged criminally and reached a plea deal, agreeing to pay a $1,000 fine, write an apology letter to the Capitol Police, and serve three months of probation.

The three resolutions in 2023 mark the most censures to happen in a year since 1870, when three other lawmakers were censured for selling military academy appointments. The latest string of resolutions has also become increasingly partisan over the last decade, with the measures typically passing along party lines by whichever party is in the majority. (It requires only a simple majority vote to pass a censure resolution.)

Least productive legislative session in over a decade

The year has been the least productive 12-month period for House lawmakers in at least a decade as lawmakers have only passed 329 pieces of legislation — with even fewer, 22, eventually becoming law. That’s a drop from the 686 bills that were passed in 2022, with 284 of those being signed by President Joe Biden into law.

But despite having the least amount of bills becoming law, members conducted the most number of votes overall in over a decade — with 724 votes total. Fifteen of those were failed votes on the final passage of a bill or to adopt a resolution, which is the most failed votes since 1996.

The last year also saw the highest number of failed rule votes, a procedural measure that is usually voted along party lines to advance legislation to the floor. House Republicans helped to sink four rule votes in 2023, the most ever to happen in a year.

The House also passed five bills to override vetoes from Biden, which is tied for the second-most ever in one year since 2008.

House deals with ever-changing attendance numbers

Since convening in early January, the House has dealt with an ever-changing makeup of the lower chamber — with several early resignations as well as the ouster of Santos.

The 118th Congress marked the third year in a row that the House convened with at least one vacancy, caused by the death of former Virginia Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin, who died shortly after the midterm elections in November 2022. He was later replaced by Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), who won the seat in February.

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) (L) participates in a ceremonial swearing in for new Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) at the Capitol November 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Amo is filling the seat formerly held by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional district, which has been vacant since the summer.

After that, the House only has all 435 of its seats filled for 89 days of the year. Lawmakers dealt with the vacancy caused by former Rhode Island Democratic Rep. David Cicilline in June. He was replaced by Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) in November, who became the first black lawmaker to represent Rhode Island.

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) also resigned in September, leaving the House with two vacancies until he was replaced by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), making her the only woman in the Utah delegation to serve in Congress.

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The House will continue with its trend of vacancies heading into 2024 thanks to a handful of early retirements. When lawmakers return on Jan. 9, there will be two empty seats caused by the Santos ouster and the retirement of McCarthy.

At least two other lawmakers are expected to resign in early 2024, including Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) in February and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) in March.