Informal governing principle used in the US Congress
Dennis Hastert explicitly adopted the majority of the majority rule after becoming Speaker of the House.
The Hastert rule, also known as the "majority of the majority" rule, is an informal governing principle used in the United States by Republican Speakers of the House of Representatives since the mid-1990s to maintain their speakerships[1] and limit the power of the minority party to bring bills up for a vote on the floor of the House.[2] Under the doctrine, the speaker will not allow a floor vote on a bill unless a majority of the majority party supports the bill.[3]
Under House rules, the speaker schedules floor votes on pending legislation. The Hastert rule says that the speaker will not schedule a floor vote on any bill that does not have majority support within their party—even if the majority of the members of the House would vote to pass it. The rule keeps the minority party from passing bills with the assistance of a minority of majority party members. In the House, 218 votes are needed to pass a bill; if 200 Democrats are the minority and 235 Republicans are the majority, the Hastert rule would not allow 200 Democrats and 100 Republicans together to pass a bill, because 100 Republican votes is short of a majority of the majority party, so the speaker would not allow a vote to take place.[4]
The Hastert rule is an informal rule and the speaker is not bound by it; they may break it at their discretion. Speakers have at times broken the Hastert rule and allowed votes to be scheduled on legislation that lacked majority support within the Speaker's own party. Dennis Hastert alleged the rule was "kind of a misnomer" in that it "never really existed" as a rule.
^Ball, Molly (July 21, 2013). "Even the Aide Who Coined the Hastert Rule Says the Hastert Rule Isn't Working". The Atlantic.
^Crawford, George (September 19, 2007). "The 'majority of the majority' doctrine". The Hill.
^Sherman, Jake; Allen, Jonathan (July 30, 2011). "Boehner seeks 'majority of the majority'". Politico.
^Welna, David (December 2, 2012). "The 3 Unofficial GOP Rules That Are Making A Deficit Deal Even Harder". NPR.
The Hastertrule, also known as the "majority of the majority" rule, is an informal governing principle used in the United States by Republican Speakers...
John Dennis Hastert (/ˈhæstərt/; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician, educator, convicted felon and child sex offender who represented...
Dennis J. Hastert (R-Illinois), serving in that post until 2005. Feehery lays indirect claim to the articulation of the so-called Hastertrule by having...
mandated 'advice' was to come after the nomination was made." U.S. Senate Rule 30 Archived April 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine: "On the final question...
Representative to propose a bill House Committee chair(s) House Committee(s) HastertRule If the party in power decides to use it US House of Representatives Senate...
speaker's control over legislation; and codifying the Hastertrule ("majority-of-the-majority" rule), which would block all legislation except those supported...
October 8, 2013. Firestone, David (January 16, 2013). "Sandy and the HastertRule". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2013. Steve Kornacki. "US...
majority (HastertRule) Multiple referral House procedures Quorum call Reconciliation Rider Saxbe fix Sponsorship Suspension of the rules Unanimous consent...
the Workforce In March 2013, he endorsed the idea of bringing back the HastertRule, which is that in order to bring a bill to the floor it must have a majority...
provided for "two hours of general debate on S. Con. Res. 3 under a structured rule, and ninety minutes of debate on S.84." HJ119 in Florida H.Con.Res 83 - Sponsored...
Barack Obama was President of the United States, or unless it met the "HastertRule," as it has the support of the majority of Republicans. Once it appeared...
the 2006 midterm elections, as well as the end of House Speaker Dennis Hastert's leadership of the House Republicans. Kirk Fordham, chief of staff to Rep...
the House in bringing the bill up was itself a break from the normal "Hastertrule" as well, in that a majority of the majority Republican caucus did not...
cannot delegate that power to anyone else. However, the Supreme Court ruled in J. W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States (1928) that congressional delegation...
Representatives, September 12, 2001. Timestamp 2:58 begins House Speaker Dennis Hastert's recognition of Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Joint Meetings,...
John M. Hastert (born November 20, 1958) is a former Democratic member of the Wyoming Senate, he represented the 13th district from 2007 to 2019. The...
was the case when Democrat James Traficant voted for Republican Dennis Hastert in 2001 (107th Congress). In response, the Democrats stripped him of his...
Republican senators to continue the practice of senatorial courtesy. HastertRule, a similar rule in the federal House of Representatives Sullivan, Ronald (9 January...
States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert. When the committee did admonish Tom DeLay for a third time, Hastert removed three Republicans from the panel...
opposed by a majority of the Republican Conference (thereby violating the Hastert convention). As of April 19, the resolution had gained two co-sponsors...
Stephen D.; Willis, Erik A.; Ainsworth, Barbara E.; Barreira, Tiago V.; Hastert, Mary; Kracht, Chelsea L.; Schuna, John M.; Cai, Zhenghui; Quan, Minghui;...
serving Republican Speaker in history, after another Illinoisan, Dennis Hastert, who surpassed him on June 1, 2006. Thomas Brackett Reed 1908 Republican...
Former Members of Congress. On August 14, 2003, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert awarded Rhodes one of the first Congressional Distinguished Service Medals...
replace him. Oberweis was endorsed by Hastert. He won the primary for the special election for the remainder of Hastert's unfinished term with 56%. He also...
Leader: Dick Armey Majority Whip: Tom DeLay Chief Deputy Whip: Dennis Hastert Republican Conference Chairman: John Boehner Republican Conference Vice-Chairman:...
Global Information