Washington State Democrat Is 2nd in Line to Presidency for Now

Sen. Patty Murray in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Nov. 15, 2017. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) was sworn in as Senate President Pro Tempore this week, making her second in line to the presidency as the new House speaker hasn’t been named yet.

Because there is no timeline for resolving the House speaker dispute and as GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lost his bid for a seventh and eighth time on Thursday, Murray sits behind Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential line of succession until a House speaker is named. Normally, the speaker is the second in line after the vice president under the U.S. Constitution.

“It’s a responsibility I am deeply honored to take on for my country and for Washington state,” Murray, a Democrat who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992, said in a statement, adding: “I am truly honored to have earned the confidence of my colleagues to serve in the role, and the significance of this moment is certainly not lost on me.”

When the House speaker is named, Murray will become third in line to the president after the speaker and vice president. It’s not clear when that position will be held as about two dozen Republicans have signaled they won’t vote for McCarthy, and he needs at least 218 votes.

On Tuesday, Harris held a ceremony to swear her in as president pro tempore. She was nominated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) after former Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) retired. Before Leahy, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who was reelected in November, held the position.

“I care deeply about the work we do here in Congress and how that work can help the friends and neighbors I grew up with and the constituents I represent. I look forward to serving our country as President Pro Tem,” Murray’s statement also said.

“There is no one I trust more to be third in the line for presidential succession than Senator Murray,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the floor Tuesday about her appointment. “She is brilliant, pragmatic, and knows how to get things done.”

Then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) (2nd R), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y) (R), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and others as seen in a 2017 photo. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Constitution tells the Senate to name a president pro tempore, which means “for the time being,” to preside over the upper congressional chamber in the absence of the vice president. Generally, the senior member of the majority party serves as the president pro tempore since the mid-20th century, although the Constitution does not say who can serve as president pro tempore.

Notably, 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the most senior Democrat in Senate after she was elected in 1992, declined the role after the midterm elections. Murray, 72, is the next most senior Democrat, also having been elected in 1992.

Murray recently won reelection in November by more than 10 points over Republican Tiffany Smiley amid predictions that it would be a close race.

During an interview with MSNBC, Murray said she wants to prioritize child care and education.

“I will be working with my Republican colleagues in the Senate and members of the House, and I hope that they, too, know their job here, as much we all fight and care about things, is to get things done and to move things forward, and I hope that is what we will see come out of this Congress,” she told the outlet Tuesday.

House Vote

The House of Representatives cannot perform any congressional functions until a speaker is named, including the swearing-in of new members. The lower chamber will have to keep holding votes until a speaker is named in a process that could take weeks.

U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) (C) sits alongside colleagues as Representatives cast their votes for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 3, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The all-time record is 133 rounds of votes, occurring more than 150 years ago from 1855 to 1856. The second-longest took place in 1849 when 63 rounds of votes were needed to confirm a speaker.

“My office was informed by an agency today that they cannot communicate with my staff regarding active casework because we are not yet sworn in,” wrote Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on Thursday afternoon.