MICHIGAN, USA — As the voting for the Speaker of the House continues, two former West Michigan congressmen have thrown their names out there as possible outside candidates.
"There's nothing in the law or the constitution that requires the Speaker to be a member of the House of Representatives," says Doug Koopman, a professor of politics at Calvin University.
That means potential bids for former West Michigan congressmen Justin Amash and Fred Upton could actually be possible after they both publicly considered the position.
Amash, the former representative for Michigan's third district who left the Republican party to become Libertarian in 2020, took to Twitter to offer himself for the role.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Amash said, in part, "I'd gladly serve as Speaker of the House for one term to show people the kind of legislative body we can have if someone at the top actually cares about involving every representative in the work of legislating."
As a third party candidate, Amash believes he could break the stalemate because, "no member of Congress wants to vote for someone from the other party."
Center-leaning Republican Fred Upton retired from representing Michigan's sixth district this year.
Speaking to the Detroit News, however, he said becoming a candidate for the house speaker is, "an intriguing suggestion that I have not rejected." He says he would earn backers from both parties by assuring all house committees would have equal numbers Democrats and Republicans.
In the end, Koopman thinks the Speaker won't be decided for a couple more days still, but believes Kevin McCarthy is still the most likely to earn the job.
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