RULES

of the

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SECOND CONGRESS

⸻   AUTHORED BY   ⸻

FOR THE 122nd CONGRESS

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS AND SOURCING FROM PREVIOUS RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

C O N T E N T S

Rule I

The Speaker

1. At the commencement of each session, the House shall select a Speaker by majority vote, who shall have general control over order and procedure in the House of Representatives.

1. This includes, but is not limited to: extending the time to vote for any period of time for House floor votes, House amendment votes, and House amendment proposals.
2. The Speaker shall decide all questions of order in the House, subject to appeal by members. On such appeals, members may not appeal a ruling of the Chair more than once.

2. The Speaker is not required to vote on legislative proceedings. If the Speaker of House is not voting, they shall vote “Present” to record their presence.
3. The Speaker may appoint a member as Speaker pro tempore to perform the duties of the Speaker in their absence. The Speaker pro tempore shall be appointed for no more than three days, with the following exceptions:

1. In case of illness or emergency, the Speaker may appoint a member to perform their duties. This Speaker pro tempore shall be appointed for a period not exceeding 10 days. The member is subject to the approval of the House.
2. If the Speaker of House is absent and has not selected a member, or if the House has not approved of the member, then the Majority Leader shall take up the role of Speaker pro tempore until such a time that the Speaker has indicated their return.

4. The Speaker may call recesses of the House of up to three days, subject to the call of the chair.

1. In cases of immediate danger and emergency, the Speaker may declare an emergency recess subject to the call of the Chair.

5. The Speaker may adjourn the House for up to three days, or for a longer duration of time pursuant to a concurrent resolution to the same effect.
6. The Speaker may appoint a House General Counsel for the duration of the Congress, whose responsibilities shall include:

1. Advising members of the House on legal matters.
2. Representing the interests of the House in litigation and other judicial matters.
3. Initiating civil proceedings against any individual found in contempt of the House or subject to a lawful subpoena of the same to ensure compliance with the processes and authority of the House.

7. The Speaker may work with the presiding officer of the Senate to appoint counsel to represent the interests of the Congress as a whole in litigation and other judicial matters.
8. The Speaker may appoint a House Parliamentarian for the duration of the Congress, whose responsibilities shall include advising the Speaker and Majority Leader on the rules and other procedures of the House. The interpretation of the Parliamentarian may be overruled by the Speaker.

Rule II

Other Offices and Officials

1. At the commencement of each session, the House shall select a Majority Leader by majority vote, who shall:

1. Serve as Speaker pro tempore as described in Rule I, section 3 in the event the Chair is vacated until a vote is held to elect a new Speaker, or for the reason described in Rule I, section 3.2.
2. Be recognized before all other members duly sworn and seated.

2. At the commencement of each session, the candidate for Speaker obtaining the second greatest amount of votes shall become the Minority Leader.

1. In the case of a tie, the position shall be decided by lot.
2. In the case that the Speaker ran unopposed, the candidate for Majority Leader obtaining the second greatest amount of votes shall become Minority Leader.

1. In the case that both the Speaker and Majority Leader ran unopposed, the Speaker shall appoint a member to serve as Minority Leader with the advice and consent of the minority caucus.

3. The Minority Leader must be a member of a different political coalition as the Speaker.

3. Should the office of Minority Leader fall vacant in any situation except for a re-caucus, then the Speaker shall appoint a member to serve as Minority Leader with the advice and consent of the minority caucus.
4. The Speaker may appoint a Majority Whip anytime the position is vacant.

1. The Speaker shall determine the roles and responsibilities of the Majority Whip so long as they do not come in conflict with these rules.
2. The Speaker may dismiss the Majority Whip at any time for any reason they deem appropriate.

5. The Minority Leader may appoint a Minority Whip.

1. The Minority Leader shall determine the roles and responsibilities of the Minority Whip so long as they do not come in conflict with these rules.
2. The Minority Leader may dismiss the Minority Whip at any time for any reason they deem appropriate.

6. The Dean of the House shall be the member who has served in the House for the longest continuous period of time.
7. The House of Representatives shall hold no re-caucus for these positions except should the position be vacant or upon a simple majority of the House voting in favor of a re-caucus in the form of a resolution. Resolutions calling for a re-caucus authored or sponsored by the Speaker, Majority Leader, or Minority Leader and with the support of a simple majority shall automatically be rushed to a floor vote, but after a re-caucus has been voted on, another re-caucus cannot occur for 30 days.

1. In the case of a recaucus for Minority Leader, no member of the political coalition which holds a simple majority in the House may run for the position.
2. If there are no independent members and/or members from a differing political coalition from the Speaker, a party in a political coalition is the same as the Speaker that does not control a House Leadership position may be eligible to run for Minority Leader.

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Rule III

Subpoenas

1. Subject to the limitations of this rule, a House committee shall be entitled to require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and sworn testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents as it considers necessary.

1.  The Chair of the applicable committee shall authorize relevant requests for subpoena.
2.  Subpoenas shall specify the time, place and manner in which attendance or production is to be performed.

2. Any invitation or subpoena issued pursuant to this rule may be quashed by the Speaker or by a majority vote of the House for abuse of discretion or lack of pertinence to the committee’s jurisdiction.
3. A witness is entitled to raise an assertion of privilege in response to questioning by a House committee, but the committee may overrule the assertion upon due consideration by vote of a majority of members present.
4. An individual is in contempt of Congress if:

1.  They refuse to comply with an active subpoena to give testimony or produce documents required by a committee.
2.  They mislead or materially obstruct a committee of the House on any question pertinent to the inquiry.
3.  They act in a manner that outrages, insults or attacks the dignity and authority of the House or is otherwise violative of these rules.
4.  Or, they refuse to answer any question pertinent to the inquiry.

5. An individual who is in contempt of Congress may be cited by the committee chair. The chair shall present to the committee a written contempt citation containing factual findings detailing the individual’s contemptuous actions and how they have materially hindered an inquiry of the committee, upon which a vote shall be held. If a majority of members present and voting of the committee vote to affirm the citation, it shall be presented to the Speaker.
6. The Speaker shall determine the manner in which the contempt citation is to be handled. The Speaker’s discretion is final and is not subject to appeal.

1. The Speaker may cause the citation to be transmitted to the Attorney General of the United States with a recommendation to initiate criminal prosecution pursuant to 2 U.S. Code § 192.
2. The Speaker may direct the House General Counsel to initiate civil proceedings to compel the enforcement of the House’s authority via declaratory and injunctive relief in a court of the United States.
3. The Speaker may, under the inherent authority of the House of Representatives, direct that the Sergeant-at-Arms arrest the individual in question and present them to the full House for trial. Upon presentment, a trial shall be held with the Speaker presiding where the committee chair who issued the citation, or a designated representative, shall present the evidence underlying the citation, and the individual or their counsel shall then be afforded an opportunity to present a defense. At the trial’s conclusion, the full House shall by majority vote of members present and voting order that the individual be convicted.
4. The Speaker may elect to take no action.

7. An individual convicted under the inherent authority of the House of Representatives shall be remanded to the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms and subject, at the discretion of the Speaker, to punitive imprisonment for a term not exceeding the life of the Congress, or to coercive imprisonment, or to a fine not exceeding $100,000.

Rule IV

Organization of Committees

1. The Standing Committees of the House, and their respective duties, are as follows:

1. Committee on Armed Services and Foreign Affairs: Oversight of the Department of Defense, the United States Armed Forces, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Veterans Affairs; and affairs pertaining to the United States Military, the wellbeing and condition of veterans, the foreign affairs of the United States, and treaties and declarations of force.
2. Committee on Ways and Means, Finance, and Appropriations: Oversight of the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of Management and Budget; and affairs pertaining to the general financing of the federal government, appropriations bills, the budget of the federal government.
3. Committee on Science, Energy, the Environment, and Commerce: Oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, and the Securities and Exchange Commission; and affairs pertaining to science, research, federal subsidies for scientific research, the promotion of scientific education, the general regulation of science, patents and intellectual property, energy, non-military nuclear energy, business in general, small businesses, antitrust legislation, international finance and regulation thereof, and banking in general.
4. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Entitlements: Oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and the Social Security Administration; and affairs pertaining to public education, higher education, early childhood education, educational resources in general, systems of healthcare, public health, labor conditions, labor unions, workforce protections, Social Security, Medicaid, and entitlements in general.
5. Committee on Government Oversight, Infrastructure, and the Interior: Oversight of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Interior; and affairs pertaining to oversight of federal agencies in general, the infrastructure of the United States, the Postal Service, public transportation, American Indian relations and lands, public lands, and the National Park Service.
6. Committee on Social Concerns and the Judiciary: Oversight of the Department of Justice, and affairs pertaining to the court system of the United States, judicial issues in general, civil and criminal law, civil rights, and voting rights.

2. The Select Committees of the House, and their respective duties, are as follows:

1. Committee on Rules and Administration: Oversight of the Federal Elections Commission and the General Services Administration; and affairs pertaining to the election of members, financing of the operations of the House and its members, ethics surrounding the affairs of members, the rules and procedures of the House of Representatives, and disputes thereof. This committee shall address legislation which concerns rules and procedures of the House, as well as general operations of Congress. This committee shall also address any disputes with House Rules and procedure.
2. The Select Committees shall have members from all political coalitions serving on them.

3. The Speaker, in consultation with the Minority Leader, may establish an ad hoc select committee to conduct legislative inquiries, take evidence and testimony, and issue reports to the whole House; provided that the committee will not consider any legislation and shall only conduct such inquiries as authorized by the Speaker. The Committee shall strive to conduct its business efficiently and in a bipartisan manner. Notwithstanding Rule VI, the Ranking Member of the Committee is ex officio the Vice Chair and may exercise powers delegated by the Chair. Membership in this Committee does not excuse a member from the requirement that every member must sit on a Standing Committee.

Rule V

Composition of Committees

1. There shall be no less than five members serving on each standing committee.
2. The Speaker shall give each party “slots” on the various House committees.
3. The various party leaders shall  appoint members from their own party to fill these slots, thereby composing the House Committees.

1. The Speaker shall directly appoint members without party affiliation to their committees.

4. Upon notification by the Speaker, each party leader must submit their committee assignments to the Speaker within 48 hours.

1. If a party leader fails to supply their assignments in the allotted time, the Clerk of the House may distribute their party’s members into their slots.
2. Party leaders may adjust the membership of their party members within committees and shall notify the Speaker of any such changes.

5. The composition of each committee shall be proportional to the overall party composition of the House.

Rule VI

Committee Leadership

1. There are established the positions of Chair and Vice Chair, who shall lead their respective committees as members of the majority coalition in the House, and the position of Ranking Member, who shall represent the minority coalition in the House on their respective committees.

1. The Vice Chair may assume the duties of the Chair of their respective committee if the Chair is incapable of performing their duties established in the Rules of the House.

2. The Speaker shall select each Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs of committees. The Minority Leader shall select the Ranking Members of committees.
3. If a Committee Chair becomes vacant, the Speaker shall appoint a replacement.

1. The Speaker may dismiss any Committee Chair at any time for any reason.

4. If a Ranking Member position becomes vacant, the Minority Leader shall appoint a replacement.

1. The Minority Leader may dismiss any Ranking Member at any time for any reason.

5. No member may be the Chair or Ranking Member of more than one committee.
6. Within their committees, each Committee Chair shall assume the procedural and leadership duties of the Speaker, as the Speaker would on the floor of the House.  
7. The Vice Chair shall serve as Chair pro tempore during the Committee Chair’s temporary absences of no more than 10 days.

1. The Committee Chair must notify the Speaker in writing before taking a temporary absence.

8. The Committee Chair may establish up to two subcommittees simultaneously. These subcommittees shall purely be for the purposes of composing legislation or exploring an issue, and the Chair shall have full control over these subcommittee(s). The creation of a subcommittee must be approved by the Speaker.
9. The Committee Chair shall have the power to call a markup session of the committee. This markup session shall allow members of the committee to amend and debate on the amendments concurrently.

1. This markup session shall last for a total of 48 hours.
2. The Chair may extend the period up to 72 hours if needed.

10. The Chair of all standing committees may prepare a brief, germane Committee Report regarding all legislation within their committee and present it to the Speaker no less than once per month.

1. The Ranking Member may, at their discretion, decide to prepare a Minority Report alongside the Chair’s Committee Report.

Rule VII

Types of Legislation

1. Simple Resolutions shall be used to express the opinion of the House of Representatives on a particular event or policy matter.

1. These pieces of legislation shall be non-binding and not legally binding in any way, shape, or form.
2. These pieces of legislation shall be designated as “H. Res.” for record purposes.
3. These pieces of legislation shall only require the consent of a majority of a quorum in the House of Representatives for passage.

2. Concurrent Resolutions shall be used to express the opinion of both chambers of Congress on a particular event or policy matter.

1. These pieces of legislation shall be non-binding and not legally binding in any way, shape, or form.
2. These pieces of legislation shall be designated as “H. Con. Res.” for record purposes.
3. These pieces of legislation shall only require the consent of a majority of a quorum in the House of Representatives and the Senate for passage.

3. Joint Resolutions shall be used to address an issue of broad or narrow interest, most notably to amend the Constitution of the United States.

1. These pieces of legislation shall be designated as “H. J. Res.” for record purposes.
2. Depending on the content of a particular piece of legislation, it shall require the following for passage:

1. Should it be attempting to amend the Constitution of the United States of America, it shall require the consent of 2/3rds of the House and the Senate before being sent to the several States for ratification.
2. Should it be attempting to address any other matter, it shall only require the consent of a majority of a quorum of the House of Representatives and the Senate for passage to the President for their signature or veto.

4. Bills shall be used to establish policy and address an issue of broad or narrow interest.

1. These pieces of legislation shall be designated as “H.R.” for record purposes.
2. These pieces of legislation shall only require the consent of a majority of a quorum of the House of Representatives and the Senate for passage to the President for their signature or veto.

Rule VIII

The Legislative Process

1. Members shall submit all legislation to the Congressional docket.
2. The Speaker shall have full authority over the docket and may alter the order of legislation.

1. Legislation may be rushed to the floor by virtue of a Discharge Petition, having been signed by a majority of the members of the House of Representatives.
2. Discharge Petitions must provide for the rules under which the piece of legislation in question shall be considered. A piece of legislation brought to the floor via discharge petition can either be considered under normal order or under special rules limiting debate, introduction of amendments, the length of the voting period, or otherwise altering the normal consideration of legislation.

1. Discharge Petitions are limited to five per subject per session for House legislation only, not Senate legislation.

1. Discharge Petitions dealing with the House rules or the enforcement thereof shall be of unlimited number.

2. Pieces of legislation dealing predominantly with appropriation or budgetary matters may not be brought forth by Discharge Petition unless the piece of legislation in question has passed in the Senate during the current term.

3. Any resolution exclusively regarding provisions relating to the State of Union shall automatically be rushed to the floor.

3. The Speaker or Majority Leader shall assign legislation to a specific committee(s), indicate their intentions to table it, allow it to bypass the committee process and proceed directly to the floor for an amendment or voting period.

1. The Speaker may assign a certain piece of legislation to multiple committees, however a piece of legislation may only be in one committee at once. In these instances, the Speaker must indicate the order in which each committee receives each piece of legislation.

4. Amendment proposal periods within committee shall be 48 hours long followed by 48 hours of amendment proposal voting as needed, and committee votes shall be 48 hours long unless otherwise prescribed by the Chair or by the Moderators.

1. Votes may be closed early by the Committee Chair if all members have voted.

5. Legislation approved by committee shall be sent to the House floor, unless the Speaker has assigned it to another committee as per Rule 8, Section 3.1.
6. Amendment proposal periods on the floor shall be 48 hours long followed by 48 hours of amendment proposal voting as needed, and floor votes shall be 48 hours long unless otherwise prescribed by the chair or by the moderators.

1. Votes may be closed early by the Speaker if all members have voted.
2. For a vote to be considered binding, a quorum must be present.

7. Pieces of legislation introduced and passed by the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives for approval shall be treated as a piece of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives as far as the legislative process is concerned.
8. The Clerk of the House shall determine the number of pieces of legislation passed by the Senate that shall be presented to the House of Representatives each week. Unless the Speaker deems otherwise, the pieces of legislation which most recently met the requirements stipulated this Rule shall be prioritized.
9. If a piece of legislation has been sent to Conference Committee, the Speaker shall dictate the composition of the House delegation to the Conference Committee.

Rule IX

Censures

1. The censure of any member shall result in a suspension of committee membership for three weeks and the loss of any leadership positions within the House for the remainder of the term.
2. All resolutions seeking to censure a Member or Members shall automatically be rushed to a floor vote.

1. Resolutions seeking to censure the Speaker, the Majority Leader, or the Minority Leader shall not be rushed.

3. Each Member is limited to submitting one censure resolution a month.

Rule X

Hearings

1. The Chair, or a majority of a committee may, at any time, hold a hearing. In the event of an emergency, the Chair may hold a hearing at any time so long as the Vice Chair or Ranking Member can also attend.
2. All members of a committee shall be entitled during a hearing conducted pursuant to this rule to ask germane, decorous and non-prejudicial questions of the subject, subject to the oversight of the Chair and any reasonable restrictions that they may prescribe.
3. Committee hearings shall be open to the public, unless a motion is passed prior to their start to hold a closed hearing.
4. A hearing may be conducted in closed session without dissemination of any records to non-members of the committee, excepting the Speaker, Majority Leader and Minority Leader, if the Chair deems that overriding national security circumstances dictate such an outcome.
5. Whenever a hearing is conducted by a committee on a measure or matter, the minority members of the committee shall be entitled, upon request to the chair by a majority of them before the completion of the hearing, to call witnesses selected by the minority to testify with respect to that measure or matter during at least one day of hearing thereon.
6. All participants in a hearing shall act in a respectful manner towards all other individuals and shall not impugn the dignity of any person, the committee or the Congress.

Rule XI

Secret Sessions

1. When confidential communications are received from the President, or when the Speaker or a member, informs the House that such individual has communications that such individual believes ought to be kept secret for the present, the House shall be cleared of all persons except the members, delegates, Resident Commissioner, and officers of the House for the reading of such communications, and debates and proceedings thereon, unless otherwise ordered by the House.
2. A secret session shall conclude with the consent of two-thirds of the present and voting members.

Rule XII

Amendments in Bad Faith

1. No member shall submit any amendment which:

1. Strikes all significant portions (where significant portion is taken to mean all sections, excluding any definitions, short title, or other procedural section) of a part of legislation;
2. Strikes the enacting clause or amends the enacting clause to a date further than ten years beyond the implementation date of the legislation, or otherwise significantly delays the enactment of the legislation beyond what is just and reasonable, which significantly negates the purpose of the legislation;
3. Strikes particular tenses, letters, or other grammatical functions to make the legislation incoherent;
4. Adds non-germane and/or absurd sections to the legislation to ensure its failure;
5. Or otherwise generally alters the language of the legislation in a manner unduly severe or contrary to the original purpose of the legislation.

2. While a piece of legislation is under consideration by the various standing committees, it shall be the duty of the Committee Chair to interpret and enforce this rule.
3. During the amendments proposal phase on the House floor, it shall be the duty of the Speaker and the Majority Leader to interpret and enforce this rule.
4. The Minority Leader, or Ranking Member in the context of a committee, may object to a ruling by the Speaker (or Committee Chair) that an amendment has been made in bad faith, at which point the Speaker (or Committee Chair) shall be obligated to cite the exact portion of this rule for which the amendment in question has been found in violation.

1. Failure to do so by the time voting on amendments has closed shall render the ruling of bad faith to be null and void.

Rule XIII

General Remarks and Debate

1. At the beginning of a bill cycle, the Clerk of the House, acting under the authority of the Speaker, shall open the floor for members to deliver remarks and debate the bills before the floor of the House.
2. Members shall be permitted to cross-examine one another on any remarks delivered so long as questions asked are not openly hostile or otherwise aggressive.
3. The floor shall be open for members to deliver their remarks for the duration of the bill cycle, up until the beginning of the next bill cycle.

Rule XIV

Budget Proposal Consideration Protocol

1. At the beginning of each presidential term, the House of Representatives shall be charged with authoring and passing a budget to the Senate for its consideration.
2. The Chair of each standing committee shall be charged with drafting and presenting a proposal for appropriations on their standing committee’s assigned departments within 1 month of the House’s inauguration to the Speaker.

1. Should a Committee Chair fail to submit a proposal for appropriations to the Speaker then the Speaker shall have the right to designate appropriation for that Committee Chair’s assigned departments as they see fit.

3. The Ranking Member of each standing committee shall be charged with drafting and presenting a proposal for appropriations on their standing committee’s assigned departments within 1 month of the House’s inauguration to the Minority Leader.

1. Should a Ranking Member fail to submit a proposal for appropriations to the Minority Leader then the Minority Leader shall have the right to designate appropriation for that Ranking Members’s assigned departments as they see fit.

4. The standing committees shall be assigned the following executive departments and all directly-related institutions the purposes of drafting a proposal for appropriations for their respective executive departments:

1. The Committee on Armed Services and Foreign Affairs is assigned the Department of Defense and the Department of State.
2. The Committee on Ways and Means, Finance, and Appropriations is assigned no department.
3. The Committee on Science, Energy, and the Environment is assigned the Department of the Treasury.
4. The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Entitlements is assigned the Department of Health and Human Services.
5. The Committee on Government Oversight, Infrastructure, and the Interior is assigned the Department of the Interior.
6. The Committee on Social Concerns and the Judiciary is assigned the Department of Justice.

5. The Speaker shall compile and modify as they deem appropriate all proposals submitted by the various Committee Chairs into a singular piece of legislation that shall be referred to as the “House Majority Budget.”

1. The Speaker, or a member of their political coalition of their choosing, shall submit the House Majority Budget for consideration within 1 month and 2 weeks of the House’s inauguration.

6. The Minority Leader shall compile and modify as they deem appropriate all proposals submitted by the various Ranking Members into a singular piece of legislation that shall be referred to as the “House Minority Budget.”

1. The Minority Leader, or a member of their political coalition of their choosing, shall submit the House Minority Budget for consideration within 1 month and 2 weeks of the House’s inauguration.

7. Upon the receipt of the House Majority Budget and/or House Minority Budget, it shall be brought to the floor alongside all other regularly scheduled legislation at the next scheduled posting.
8. The House Majority Budget and/or the House Minority Budget shall bypass committees and proceed directly to floor amendment proposals.

1. The Speaker or the Majority Leader shall have the right to forego the amendment period on either piece of legislation.

9. The House Majority Budget and/or the House Minority Budget shall proceed to a vote just as any other piece of legislation would after the conclusion or bypassment of the amendment period. From this point on, this piece of legislation shall follow the typical legislative process.
10. Should the House Majority Budget pass to the Senate before the House Minority Budget is brought to a vote, the Speaker shall have the right to table the House Minority Budget.

1. The inverse shall not be true should the House Minority Budget pass before the House Majority Budget.

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Rule XV

Vice Presidential Confirmation Protocol

1. Should a vacancy ever arise for the office of Vice President of the United States and the President of the United States opt to nominate an individual to fill that position, the House of Representatives shall only begin the confirmation process upon the nominee’s confirmation by the Senate.

1. If the Senate fails to confirm a nominee, then the House shall never partake in the confirmation process and, for all intents and purposes, it shall be treated as though the nomination never occurred.

2. Upon notification that the Senate has confirmed a nominee, a 48 hour confirmation hearing open for all members to question the nominee shall begin alongside the next scheduled round of regular business.

1. This confirmation hearing shall be subject to the same rules as debate on any piece of legislation.

3. Upon completion of the confirmation hearing, the nomination shall proceed to a vote of the full House of Representative. The nominee shall be considered confirmed upon a simple affirmative majority vote of a quorum.

1. This confirmation vote shall be subject to the same rules as a vote on any piece of legislation.

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Rule XVI

Contingent Election Protocol

1. In the event no candidate for President of the United States receives a majority of the votes available in the Electoral College, then the House of Representatives shall perform its duties as prescribed by the 12th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and attempt to elect the next President of the United States.

1. At the time of this rules passage, a majority of the votes in the Electoral College is 270 votes or more.

2. Each of the several States shall receive 1 vote which shall be determined by the members who represent that particular State.

1. Only the members elected directly by districts within the several States shall be enfranchised for the purposes of determining how their State’s vote shall be cast.

3. Upon the election of the Speaker, the first piece of business the House of Representatives must address will be to elect the President of the United States or fail trying.
4. The House of Representatives shall vote on as many ballots as necessary until the President of the United States is elected. This process shall only be ended without electing the President of the United States at the Head Federal Clerk’s discretion.

1. If there are more than 2 candidates for President of the United States, then the candidate who received the least votes on the first ballot shall be eliminated for all subsequent ballots.

5. Should the House of Representatives ultimately fail to elect the President of the United States, then the Vice President elected by the Electoral College or selected by the United States depending on the circumstances shall be duly recognized as the President of the United States by the House of Representatives.

Rule XVII

Privileges of the House

1. Any member of the House may raise a challenge to a piece of legislation sent by the Senate in violation of the Origination Clause, and the Speaker shall rule on the challenge. If the challenge is upheld, the piece of legislation shall not be considered by the House and the Speaker shall cause to be transmitted to the Senate a blue slip reaffirming the privileges and powers of the House.
2. When a Member or employee of the House is properly served with a judicial or administrative subpoena or judicial order directing appearance as a witness relating to the official functions of the House or for the production or disclosure of any document relating to the official functions of the House, such Member, or employee shall comply, consistently with the privileges and rights of the House, with the judicial or administrative subpoena or judicial order as hereinafter provided, unless otherwise determined under this rule. Once notification has been laid before the House, the Member, or employee of the House shall determine whether the issuance of the judicial or administrative subpoena or judicial order described in Clause 1 is a proper exercise of jurisdiction by the court, is material and relevant, and is consistent with the privileges and rights of the House. Such Member, or employee shall notify the Speaker before seeking judicial determination of these matters.
3. The speech or debate of members being absolutely privileged, no member shall be detained nor shall any premises be searched within the jurisdiction of the House of Representatives except by the Sergeant-at-Arms or any other permitted person under the authority of the Speaker. Likewise, no member shall be questioned in a court of law in relation to any speech made in relation to constituent services, public outreach, electioneering or other ancillary responsibilities of a member of the House.
4. Any person who, under color of law, purports to prevent the travel to and from the House of a duly elected member is in contempt of Congress and may be cited for the same under Rule III by the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Rule XVIII

Rules Supremacy

1. These rules shall be considered the ultimate governing document of procedure for the House of Representatives until such a time that they are repealed or otherwise amended.
2. On issues of protocol on which these rules are silent, the Rules of the 119th House of Representatives, at the discretion of the Speaker, shall apply.

1. This may be waived at the discretion of the Speaker.

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Rule XIX

Parliamentary Procedure and Motions

1. The House of Representatives shall refer to Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Procedure for all motions and matters of parliamentary procedure not otherwise addressed throughout these rules.

1. A copy of Jefferson’s Manual shall be provided to every member of the House.