Speaker of the United States House of Representatives by Minority Whip Newt Gingrich. Speaker Gingrich would regularly clash with Democratic President Bill Clinton, leading to the United States federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996, in which Clinton was largely seen to have prevailed. Gingrich's hold on the leadership was weakened significantly by that and several other controversies, and he faced a caucus revolt in 1997. After the Republicans lost House seats in 1998 (although retaining a majority) he did not stand for a third term as Speaker. His successor, Dennis Hastert, had been chosen as a compromise candidate, since the other Republicans in the leadership were more
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives to members of the House from the majority party. Neither does the Speaker regularly participate in floor debates. The Constitution does not require the Speaker to be an elected member of the House of Representatives, although every Speaker thus far has been. The Speaker is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President and ahead of the President "pro tempore" of the Senate. The current House Speaker is Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin. He was elected to the office on October 29, 2015, and is the 54th person to serve as Speaker. On April 11,