PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The fight for power in the Pennsylvania House took a turn Wednesday when Philadelphia Democrat Joanna McClinton had herself sworn in as majority leader and acting speaker.
Democrats won a 102-to-101 majority in the Pennsylvania House in last month’s election. But three seats are vacant after two members resigned for higher office, and another died right before the election.
Those three seats will likely be won by Democrats, but by law, the speaker of the House has to schedule a special election. And until that election, Republicans will have a 101-99 majority.
The speaker is typically elected when all 203 members are sworn in at the start of the new session. That’s scheduled for January 3rd. The new session starts January 3rd when all members will be sworn in.
But Joanna McClinton posted photos of herself on the House floor, saying she was sworn in as majority leader which makes her acting speaker. She scheduled the special election for February 7th.
And while McClinton says there is precedent for her moves, Republicans are crying foul.
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Republican leader Bryan Cutler says the move is an “illegitimate power grab” and a “paperwork insurrection.”
“Instead of working cooperatively to navigate the unique circumstances before us, House Democrats have instead set a terrible precedent,” he said.
Before the last two-year session ended in November, Cutler, who served as speaker of the state House, called a special election to fill one of the vacant Democratic seats.
However, the Pennsylvania Department of State told Cutler in a letter Wednesday that he lacked the legal authority to call an election in the 32nd House District, which was last represented by Democratic state Rep. Tony DeLuca, who died in early October.
Cutler argues Democrats are admitting they only have 99 seats because of the vacancies, while at the same time trying to claim they’re in the majority.
McClinton says she is looking forward to getting support from Democrats and Republicans to officially become the next speaker to “respect the will of the voters of Pennsylvania.” She previously said she expects Republicans to cede their votes to her, as Democrats have done for GOP speaker candidates in the past when the party holds a majority.
If McClinton officially becomes speaker, she’ll be the first woman to helm the institution in its 240-plus years.
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