I hear a lot about what the new US house speaker is like, but i have no idea what powers a house speaker has.
Could someone in the know give a short summary please?
@admitsWrongIfProven They're the leader of one of our two houses of legislature. They essentially choose which bills get voted on. Also, if both the President and VP die, the Speaker is third in line for the Presidency. Those are the big ones.
@LouisIngenthron Ah, so if the house speaker decides to not bring bills up, he can completely block what he does not like without recourse?
@admitsWrongIfProven In essence, yes, but that power stems not from his position as speaker, but rather as his position as leader of the majority. If he knows the majority won't vote for it (because that's what he's pushing for) then there's no reason to bring it to a vote.
@LouisIngenthron Thank you for a concise summary!