Fast Facts
The House has elected or appointed employees to carry out a wide variety of tasks throughout its history. The officers’ duties are prescribed both by law and Rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
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Parliamentarians of the House
The Parliamentarian is a nonpartisan official appointed by the Speaker of the House to render objective assistance on legislative and parliamentary procedure to the House of Representatives. During proceedings on the floor, the Parliamentarian sits to the Speaker’s right on the dais.
The parliamentary law of the House of Representatives derives from the Constitution and rules adopted pursuant to Article I, section five of the Constitution. These rules include not only the standing rules adopted from Congress to Congress but also Jefferson's Manual, as customarily incorporated by reference in the standing rules. They also include rules enacted as law and special rules adopted as necessary. On this foundation rests a body of precedent established by decisions of presiding officers on actual parliamentary questions or by long custom and tradition.
In resolving questions of order, the Speaker and other presiding officers of the House adhere to the jurisprudential principle of stare decisis, a commitment to stand by earlier decisions. The overarching role of the Office of the Parliamentarian is to strive for consistency in parliamentary analysis by attempting to apply pertinent precedent to each procedural question.
Persons who performed various aspects of the Parliamentarian's duties held a series of titles throughout congressional history, including “Messenger to the Speaker,” “Clerk to the Speaker,” and “Clerk at the Speaker's Table.” Beginning in the 70th Congress (1927–1929) the title became “Parliamentarian.” Since 1857, 21 individuals have served in that role. Four also served as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives (Goodwin, Crisp, Hinds, and Cannon) and one as a Senator (Clark).
The Office of the Parliamentarian biennially publishes an annotated House Rules and Manual. Former Parliamentarians Asher Hinds, Clarence Cannon, and Lewis Deschler each compiled parliamentary precedents of the House that remain invaluable records of its proceedings. These precedents fill 26 volumes comprising thousands of decisions over the more than two centuries of parliamentary practice in the House. They are published as Hinds’ Precedents (1907); Cannon’s Precedents (1936); and Deschler’s Precedents (1977). The Parliamentarian and its subsidiary Office of Compilation of Precedents continue the perennial compilation of parliamentary precedents for formal publication. The current series, known simply as “Precedents of the United States House of Representatives,” comprises three volumes to date, with subsequent volumes to be published on a regular basis. To bridge the span between a digest of decisions and formally published precedents, the Parliamentarian also publishes a condensed compilation of procedures of current application as House Practice.
Congress and Years | Name | Title | Date Appointed |
---|---|---|---|
34th (1855–1857) | MORRICE, Thaddeus | Messenger to the Speaker | |
35th (1857–1859) | MORRICE, Thaddeus | Messenger to the Speaker | |
36th (1859–1861) | MORRICE, Thaddeus | Messenger to the Speaker | |
37th (1861–1863) | MORRICE, Thaddeus | Messenger to the Speaker | |
38th (1863–1865) | MORRICE, Thaddeus | Messenger to the Speaker | |
38th (1863–1865) | TODD, William D. | Messenger to the Speaker | 1865 |
39th (1865–1867) | TODD, William D. | Messenger to the Speaker | |
40th (1867–1869) | TODD, William D. | Messenger to the Speaker | |
41st (1869–1871) | BARCLAY, John | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1869 |
42nd (1871–1873) | BARCLAY, John | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
43rd (1873–1875) | BARCLAY, John | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
44th (1875–1877) | SCUDDER, William H. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1875 |
45th (1877–1879) | SCUDDER, William H. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
45th (1877–1879) | TUCKER, J. Randolph, Jr. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1877 |
46th (1879–1881) | MILLER, George P. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1879 |
46th (1879–1881) | SULLIVAN, Michael | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1880 |
46th (1879–1881) | TUCKER, J. Randolph, Jr. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
47th (1881–1883) | SULLIVAN, Michael | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1882 |
47th (1881–1883) | WHITE, J. Guilford | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1881 |
48th (1883–1885) | CRUTCHFIELD, Nathaniel T. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1883 |
49th (1885–1887) | CRUTCHFIELD, Nathaniel T. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
50th (1887–1889) | CRUTCHFIELD, Nathaniel T. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
51st (1889–1891) | CRUTCHFIELD, Nathaniel T. | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
51st (1889–1891) | GOODWIN, Forrest | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1890 |
52nd (1891–1893) | CRISP, Charles Robert | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1891 |
53rd (1893–1895) | CRISP, Charles Robert | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
54th (1895–1897) | HINDS, Asher Crosby | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1895 |
55th (1897–1899) | HINDS, Asher Crosby | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
56th (1899–1901) | HINDS, Asher Crosby | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
57th (1901–1903) | HINDS, Asher Crosby | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
58th (1903–1905) | HINDS, Asher Crosby | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
59th (1905–1907) | HINDS, Asher Crosby | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
60th (1907–1909) | HINDS, Asher Crosby | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
61st (1909–1911) | HINDS, Asher Crosby 1 | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
62nd (1911–1913) | CRISP, Charles Robert | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1911 |
63rd (1913–1915) | CLARK, Joel Bennett | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1913 |
64th (1915–1917) | CLARK, Joel Bennett | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
65th (1917–1919) | CANNON, Clarence Andrew 2 | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1917 |
65th (1917–1919) | CLARK, Joel Bennett | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
66th (1919–1921) | FESS, Lehr | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | 1919 |
67th (1921–1923) | FESS, Lehr | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
68th (1923–1925) | FESS, Lehr | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
69th (1925–1927) | FESS, Lehr | Clerk at the Speaker's Table | |
70th (1927–1929) | FESS, Lehr 3 | Parliamentarian | |
70th (1927–1929) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | Jan 01, 1928 4 |
71st (1929–1931) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
72nd (1931–1933) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
73rd (1933–1935) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
74th (1935–1937) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
75th (1937–1939) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
76th (1939–1941) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
77th (1941–1943) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
78th (1943–1945) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
79th (1945–1947) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
80th (1947–1949) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
81st (1949–1951) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
82nd (1951–1953) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
83rd (1953–1955) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
84th (1955–1957) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
85th (1957–1959) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
86th (1959–1961) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
87th (1961–1963) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
88th (1963–1965) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
89th (1965–1967) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
90th (1967–1969) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
91st (1969–1971) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
92nd (1971–1973) | DESCHLER, Lewis | Parliamentarian | |
93rd (1973–1975) | DESCHLER, Lewis 5 | Parliamentarian | |
93rd (1973–1975) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | Jul 01, 1974 6 |
94th (1975–1977) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
95th (1977–1979) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
96th (1979–1981) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
97th (1981–1983) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
98th (1983–1985) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
99th (1985–1987) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
100th (1987–1989) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
101st (1989–1991) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
102nd (1991–1993) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
103rd (1993–1995) | BROWN, William Holmes | Parliamentarian | |
103rd (1993–1995) | JOHNSON, Charles W. | Parliamentarian | Sep 16, 1994 7 |
104th (1995–1997) | JOHNSON, Charles W. | Parliamentarian | |
105th (1997–1999) | JOHNSON, Charles W. | Parliamentarian | |
106th (1999–2001) | JOHNSON, Charles W. | Parliamentarian | |
107th (2001–2003) | JOHNSON, Charles W. | Parliamentarian | |
108th (2003–2005) | JOHNSON, Charles W. | Parliamentarian | |
108th (2003–2005) | SULLIVAN, John V. | Parliamentarian | May 31, 2004 8 |
109th (2005–2007) | SULLIVAN, John V. | Parliamentarian | |
110th (2007–2009) | SULLIVAN, John V. | Parliamentarian | |
111th (2009–2011) | SULLIVAN, John V. | Parliamentarian | |
112th (2011–2013) | SULLIVAN, John V. | Parliamentarian | |
112th (2011–2013) | WICKHAM, Thomas J., Jr. | Parliamentarian | Apr 01, 2012 9 |
113th (2013–2015) | WICKHAM, Thomas J., Jr. | Parliamentarian | |
114th (2015–2017) | WICKHAM, Thomas J., Jr. | Parliamentarian | |
115th (2017–2019) | WICKHAM, Thomas J., Jr. | Parliamentarian | |
116th (2019–2021) | WICKHAM, Thomas J., Jr. | Parliamentarian | |
116th (2019–2021) | SMITH, Jason | Parliamentarian | Sep 16, 2020 10 |
117th (2021–2023) | SMITH, Jason | Parliamentarian | |
118th (2023–2025) | SMITH, Jason | Parliamentarian |
Footnotes
*A complete appointment date for each parliamentarian is provided when known.
1Resigned March 3, 1911, to become Member of the 62nd Congress. See, Washington Post, March 3, 1911: 4.
2Appointed due to Clark's resignation to join the military.
3Resigned on January 1, 1928. See, Congressional Record, House, 69th Cong., 1st sess., (31 January 1927): 2622; Congressional Record, House, 70th Cong., 1st sess., (21 December 1927): 917–918.
4Appointed due to Fess's resignation. See, Congressional Record, House, 69th Cong., 1st sess., (31 January 1927): 2622; Congressional Record, House, 70th Cong., 1st sess., (21 December 1927): 917–918.
5Retired on June 30, 1974. See, Congressional Record, House, 93rd Cong., 2nd sess., (27 June 1974): 21590.
6Appointed due to Deschler's retirement. See, Congressional Record, House, 93rd Cong., 2nd sess., (1 July 1974): 21847.
7Appointed due to Brown's retirement. See, Congressional Record, House, 103rd Cong., 2nd sess., (20 September 1994): H9226–H9227.
8Appointed due to Johnson's retirement. See, Congressional Record, House, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., (20 May 2004): H3394.
9Appointed due to Sullivan’s retirement. See, Congressional Record, House, 112th Cong., 2nd sess., (28 February 2012): H974.
10Appointed due to Wickhams’s retirement on September 16, 2020, effective October 1, 2020. See, Congressional Record, House, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., (16 September 2020): H4437.