Lacking a Speaker, House Ceases to Function

(Mr. Long isn’t a congressman, as the last Congress adjourned for the final time on Tuesday. Even though Eric Burlison has yet been sworn in, the Republican who won his race to succeed him.

At first, many Democrats enjoyed the dysfunctional Republican-led House. Some posted photos of popcorn on social media while mocking the discord. Some started to worry about the practicalities, like getting paid.

Representative Colin Allred (Democrat of Texas) stated on Wednesday on MSNBC that he wasn’t sure if paychecks for members and their aides would still be sent out and suggested that lawmakers could ask for back pay.

“The issue really is, at some point in time, whether the staff will be paid,” Mr. Kildee said.

Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas and one of Mr. McCarthy’s fiercest detractors, rejected concerns about a nonfunctioning House, and said Tuesday evening he did not think most Americans cared.

“Do you think anybody in America right now is like, ‘Oh my God, there’s not a speaker?’” he told reporters, adding that he believed there were untested legislative maneuvers the chamber could take to respond to an emergency should one arise. “We’re a body. We can do anything. We can do almost anything. If there’s an emergency, we can do whatever we need to.”

But legal experts doubted whether any action taken by a House without a speaker — who is second in line to the presidency — could withstand judicial review.

The basis of its order has been based on provisions in the Constitution and a 1789 law for more than 200 years. According to the Revised Statutes of the United States, at the first session of Congress, the body must first swear in a speaker who then administers the oath of office to all members present, “previous to entering on any other business.”