Who can be Speaker of the House?

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There are very few actual constitutional barriers to becoming House Speaker, which is why each leadership election usually sees at least one to two members cast symbolic votes for figures outside of Congress such as former President Donald Trump or others.

The Constitution does not explicitly outline the duties of a speaker nor their eligibility, only calling for the House of Representatives to choose one as a body.

Historically the speaker has been a member of Congress and a member of the majority party.

However, the latter is not an explicit guideline either —  theoretically, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries could be speaker if a handful of Republicans voted with every House Democrat to elect him. Though it’s technically allowed, it’s still a long-shot due to the political risk of crossing the aisle for such a significant vote.

Ultimately, the speaker is voted in by a House-wide majority vote. It’s not immediately clear when the next vote will be, but the earliest it could be held is Tuesday after House Republicans’ closed-door election to find their candidate.