A Less Vocal Speaker

When Newt Gingrich declared his intention to resign from the House following the poor Republican showing in the 1998 congressional elections, a battle took place within the Republican caucus to determine who would replace Gingrich. The competition to be Speaker was won by Rep. Bob Livingston from Louisiana, who had been chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Within days of his victory as Speaker-designate, however, Livingston resigned from Congress as well, in the wake of revelations that he had been involved in an extramarital affair. Given that the House was in the process of attempting to impeach President Clinton for lying under oath about his relationship with a White House intern, Livingston felt compelled to resign from elected office, and called upon President Clinton to follow his example.

Audio file excerpts of Livingston's resignation speech can be found here

Following the resignation of two speakers within two months, the Republican majority in the House elected Dennis Hastert of Illinois as Speaker in January 1999. During his tenure, Hastert has adopted a more collegial leadership style and has relied less on his formal powers than Gingrich did. In addition, Hastert has maintained a much lower public profile than that cultivated by his predecessors. In part, this is due simply to Hastert's personality, which is less dominant than Gingrich's. But it also reflects the fact that the Republicans possess a very slim majority in the House of Representatives, and a vocal and abrasive leadership style would be an obstacle to securing passage of the Republican legislative agenda.