Though it holds immense power, the House speakership seems like the worst job in Washington these days. Current Speaker John Boehner wants to leave, but after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy suddenly dropped out of the contest, it could be anybody's race. Rep. Paul Ryan doesn't want to do it, though he's been prodded, and it's not clear any other candidate has enough consensus to win on the House floor. The House now plans to choose a new speaker at the end of this month, if it can.
Today's struggle seems like a lot of drama, but a look back at the speakership shows that, at least since the 1940s, it's had more than its share of tension, struggle and rebellion. And extreme partisanship on Capitol Hill has made the job even more unmanageable:
(We have a look at the rise of power in the House here, including why some earlier speakers were called czars).
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Rep. Sam Rayburn, D-Texas, takes his position in the speaker's chair of the House of Representatives in 1941.
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Speaker John W. McCormack, the chairman of the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City, blasts Republicans Aug. 25, 1964, as he delivers his speech to convention delegates. He charged that the GOP had been captured by extremists who used methods of totalitarian movements.
Bob Schutz
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House Speaker Carl Albert, D-Okla., swears in new members of Congress during a re-enactment at the Capitol on Jan. 14, 1975.
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House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., D-Mass., meets with reporters at a news conference on Capitol Hill on April 8, 1981.
John Duricka
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House Speaker Jim Wright holds a news conference on Capitol Hill on Aug. 6, 1987, commenting that "he earnestly hoped" President Reagan's cease-fire proposal to the Nicaraguan government succeeded.
Lana Harris
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Thomas Foley, D-Wash., at a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House, in 1991.
Barry Thumma
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Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. is sworn in as House speaker on Jan. 4, 1995, in the House chambers on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Joe Marquette
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House Speaker-to-be Dennis Hastert holds a news conference on Jan. 4, 1999, in Washington.
Joe Marquette
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi introduces the presidential nomination process at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Paul Sancya
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House Speaker John Boehner holds a press conference on July 30, 2011, at the Capitol in Washington.
Toby Jorrin
