RUFUS - House Speaker Gretchen LeWolf has officially announced that she will step down from House leadership as the 32nd House Speaker effective January 5, 2025. Speaker LeWolf said that she will remain in office as the Representative for New Shire’s 1st Congressional District. Deputy House Speaker Matthew Carrington will serve as Speaker Pro Tempore until September 5, 2025, when the House Speaker Election takes place.
Members of both parties say they were shocked when she announced that she would step down as House Speaker, just hours after President Jay Laylin called on her to resign. Many LeWolf allies say that he decision to step down was a way to allow the House to work hard for the Jesstopian people and prevent interruptions to the legislative process.
“While I am completely shocked by Speaker LeWolf’s decision to step down as the 32nd Speaker Of The House, I know her stepping down comes from a place of pure support for the continuation of the legislative process,” said Representative Patrick Ditty(N-NS 4th District). “She has always been supportive of ways to make the lives of Jesstopians safer, more secure, and to ensure they have a stronger future. Her service to our nation will never be forgotten. I look forward to working with her as a Representative once again.”
The House is set to vote on its new speaker in September, just before their new terms start in November. Furthermore, the House could likely flip Republican after Jay Laylin’s sobering defeat of Thomas Cooke and ending the Nationalist rule that has governed the United States Of Jesstopia since the country was established back in 1806. So even if she would have stayed on as Speaker until September 2025, she may have been defeated by a Republican for the Speaker’s chair.
“Today is a hard day for me as I end my tenure as House Speaker, a role I have held since 2022. It has been an honor to have been able to serve as this chamber’s speaker, and not only serving as Speaker, but as Deputy Speaker under Representative and former Speaker Braden Harris,” said Speaker LeWolf. “I am grateful to be able to continue to serve the people of my constituency, as a Representative, returning to the role I have held since 2015.”
Deputy House Speaker Matthew Carrington will become Speaker Pro Tempore, a role he will hold until the next Speaker election which isn’t set to be held until September 5, 2025. He will act as Speaker until this election as the Speaker’s chair is filled. He himself is eyeing to fill the seat that his boss is set to leave on January 5. But with him preparing to take over the responsibilities of the Speaker’s job, he will not wield any real power then to be the adjudication officer and to keep the House running smoothly.
“I know what I am about to do and understand that I don’t have the full authority of the Speaker’s chair,” said Dep. Speaker Matthew Carrington. “I know our country has a lot of healing to do, and we will work closely with President Jay Laylin to ensure that our borders close down, and that we can work to end the influx of illegal immigrants, while ensuring an influx of legal immigration into our country. I will work with my fellow lawmakers to ensure that our country gets back on track.”