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Can Florida’s members of Congress help constituents amid speaker chaos? Confusion reigns.

The stalemate over the GOP’s next speaker is causing some members-elect to say they can’t help constituents or have lost their security clearances.
 
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks with reporters in National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol Building on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is meeting to vote for the next Speaker after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to earn more than 218 votes on several ballots; the first time in 100 years that the Speaker was not elected on the first ballot.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks with reporters in National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol Building on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is meeting to vote for the next Speaker after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to earn more than 218 votes on several ballots; the first time in 100 years that the Speaker was not elected on the first ballot. [ KENT NISHIMURA | Los Angeles Times ]
Published Jan. 6, 2023

Does the U.S. House of Representatives, in its fourth day without a speaker, currently exist?

That question has a complicated answer, which involves examining precedents on the exact moment that the House is technically assembled.

“Constitutionally speaking, no,” said Joshua Huder, a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University who specializes in congressional procedure. “They’re all there, but none of them have the rights and privileges of members yet and until they take oath of office, they are not assembled in such a way.”

As the fight drags on within Republican ranks of who will be the next speaker, the implications are edging from political to practical. Some members have complained of being unable to help constituents navigate the federal bureaucracy, a routine part of day-to-day work for congressional offices, because of the impasse. Others have been locked out of classified briefings because they’ve lost security clearances.

In this political stalemate, the Florida delegation has taken center stage. Rep.-elect Byron Donalds, a Republican from Naples, emerged as one challenger to embattled Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy from California, who had suffered defeat in 13 votes by mid-Friday afternoon. Reps.-elect Anna Paulina Luna of St. Petersburg and Matt Gaetz from the Florida Panhandle have also been leading voices in the small but stiff resistance to McCarthy.

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., left, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and other members of the conservative Freedom Caucus talk to reporters in Statuary Hall about their opposition to voting for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to be speaker of the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) [ J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE | AP ]

Thursday evening, Rep.-elect John Rutherford, a Republican from the Jacksonville area, blamed Donalds, Luna and Gaetz by name in a tweet saying his office cannot help constituents. “The small minority obstructing the speaker election is causing real consequences for Americans,” he wrote.

Congressional offices often help constituents with issues involving Medicare, Social Security, immigration or veterans services, for example.

Donalds, Luna and Gaetz did not respond to requests for comment sent by text and to their offices by Friday afternoon. But they have said that their protest is based on their constituents’ desire to root out the establishment in Washington. By Friday afternoon, Donalds and Luna had flipped and supported McCarthy while Gaetz remained a holdout.

Not all of Florida’s members of Congress say they are having the same problem as Rutherford.

Rikki Miller, spokesperson for Rep.-elect Kathy Castor, a Democrat from Tampa, said their office is continuing to process constituents’ requests, adding that staff helped someone get a $1,062 tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service just this week. But Miller said she was unsure whether new members beginning their first terms have the same access to the federal agencies compared to a longtime incumbent like Castor.

“The inability of Republicans to govern is sad for democracy and sad for the American people. Our neighbors deserve a Congress that works for them, not one mired in endless chaos, confusion and crisis,” Castor said in a news release. “Due to the dysfunction, it’s important to get the word out that our neighbors can call my team at 813-871-2817 for help on a federal matter.”

Castor’s office also shared a memo from an office within the IRS stating that it is still processing cases from Congress, though with some procedural tweaks.

But Huder, from the Government Affairs Institute, said he’s heard of some congressional staff being locked out of email accounts and some agencies declining to help members-elect, though it depends on each agency’s interpretation of the rules.

“It’s made a very boring day a very interesting one for 96 hours,” he said, referencing the speaker election, which is usually a formality. “Having this hiccup breaks all the modern understanding of how the institution works.”