NEWS 28 - House Speaker Pro Tempore Matthew Carrington has skyrocketed in popularity among his Nationalist colleagues as Speaker Pro Tempore, moving Representative Braden Harris to announce a motion to fill the Speaker's chair. This ultimately will unlock the full powers of the Speakership to allow him to legislate and preside over house proceedings.
"It is imperative that a speaker be in office before the September 5 election," said Representative Braden Harris. "Today I will file a motion to fill the Speaker's chair, nominating Matthew Carrington has the Speaker of the House, until the House convenes for a secondary vote for Speaker in September. He has proven that he is a worthy leader in the four days he has served as Speaker Pro Tempore. If the House approves this bill, then a vote can therefore be triggered, and a Speaker can occupy the Speaker's chair before the September election. I urge my fellow Nationalists to support this motion, so that we can man the Speaker's chair with one of our own."
The Speaker's chair has been vacant since January 5, 2025, when then-Speaker Gretchen LeWolf stepped down as Speaker. She announced her departure from the Speaker's chair back in December. Since leaving the Speaker's chair, Matthew Carrington has served as Speaker Pro Tempore, a role that was previously held by Yolanda Upton before Title 8, Article 22, Subsection 95 of the House Rules and Customs, was enacted, removing her as Speaker Pro Tempore to allow then-Deputy Speaker Of The House, Matthew Carrington to assume to role of Speaker Pro Tempore.
Calls for an early vote reverberated throughout the House in the weeks leading up to LeWolf's departure from the office, but she refused to hold that election, something she as Speaker could do legally. Representatives said that a vote to fill the Speaker's chair should have happened in December. It never happened.
"I think it is important that we get him into the Speaker's chair, so he can wield the full power of the Speakership," continued Harris. "It is very important that we have a steady incumbent in the Speaker's chair so that we can go into the election ahead of the Republican party."
Harris is set to lay the motion onto the table during Thursday's meeting of the House, and he is set to table the motion on the Speaker Pro Tempore's desk who will then decide whether or not to push to vote onto the House floor. If the motion passes, Carrington will be come the 33rd Speaker of the House. If it fails, he remains as Speaker Pro Tempore.