Soap Operas have nothing on the House of Representatives. For the first time in more than a century, the House did not elect a Speaker on the first ballot. Or the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth…

Originally this Wastebasket was to be a curtain-raiser on all the work the 118^th Congress must do this year. But they can’t do any work, can’t form committees, can’t even be sworn in until there is a Speaker. In fact, all those Representatives you can see milling about the floor on C-span are technically Representatives-elect because they haven’t been sworn in yet. Even Hal Rogers (R-KY), the “Dean” of the House – in office since 1981 – is just a Rep.-elect at this point. His job will be to swear in the new Speaker, whoever that is.

The Speaker election is so fraught because the majority is so small. To be elected Speaker, a candidate must win a majority of those voting, it’s not enough to get the most votes. In fact, if getting the most votes (a plurality) was all that it took, Rep.-elect Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) would be the next Speaker even though he’s in the minority, as he got 212 votes (all from Democrats) to Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) 203 on the first ballot.

TCS has spent much of our history lamenting Congress’ inability to pass a budget through regular order. This is because doing it through regular order (committees hold hearings, etc.) leads to a better outcome. Why? Because more members engage, debate, compromise, and produce. So it is with great concern that we are watching this Speaker fight unfold. It is unhealthy and even dangerous for the House of Representatives to be held captive to a small group of legislators. Some of the concessions Rep. McCarthy is reportedly making to win votes will do just that, such as trading spots on the powerful Rules Committee.

After the Speaker is sworn in and swears in all the other lawmakers, the next item on the agenda will be to adopt a rules package that governs the operations of the House for the next two years. The Senate has standing rules (since only two-thirds of the chamber is already seated for at least two more years), but the House adopts rules every Congress. These rules govern everything from committee size and structure, to whether legislative amendments will be considered, to Congressionally Directed Spending (earmarks) disclosure, to reviving an obscure rule from the late 19^th century to target federal employees’ compensation (more on that in a future wastebasket).

Only then, finally, can lawmakers get to business. Funding the government for fiscal year 2023 was taken care of by the last Congress – as it should have been. But in short order, the Speaker will invite the President to make a State of the Union address; the President’s fiscal year 2024 budget request is due at the beginning of February, and lawmakers need to adopt a budget resolution and begin the process of enacting the dozen spending bills that fund government before the October 1^st start of fiscal year 2024. We’ll see…

There will also be other important items on the legislative plate, to say the least. In the near term, there is the debt ceiling. Right now, the debt ceiling sits at $31.4 trillion, and we are currently at about $31.36 trillion. It is worth repeating that raising the debt ceiling merely allows us to pay for the spending Congress has already approved (not new spending), and that failing to do so would result in the U.S. government going into default, which would send the entire global economy into turmoil. Nevertheless, some members of Congress are willing to go there to wring out concessions (or just get more attention). This is one reason why this Speaker fight is so unsettling.

This Congress will also take up another Farm Bill. Adopted approximately every five years, it’s the primary vehicle for implementing both federal farm policy and providing nutrition assistance (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). It’s also a source of intense division. The last two (2013 and 2018) actually ended up initially failing on the House Floor as many of the divisions on display this week reared their head. Taxpayers, and farmers, must hope this week is not an omen as there is a significant opportunity and desire for bipartisan reform of our nation’s farm policy.

The beginning of every Congress is busy, exciting, and a bit of a political whirlwind. The 118^th Congress is that and more. Taxpayers need lawmakers to get their House in order to start tackling the important challenges facing our country. This week’s actions are messy, they’re unprecedented in a modern Congress, but they’re not fatal. We’re here, ready to work with lawmakers when they’re ready to start.