House clerk a steady presence in speaker fight

(6 Jan 2023) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: POOL Washington – 6 January 2022 1. Mid of House Clerk Cheryl Johnson hammering the gavel POOL Washington – 5 January 2022 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. French Hill, (R) Arkansas: "First let me express my deep appreciation, the appreciation of everybody in this room, for the work you're doing, Madam Clerk." 3. Wide various of House members applauding 4. Cheryl Johnson smiling from the podium 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Cheryl Johnson, House Clerk: "The clerk has the responsibility to preserve order and decorum in the chamber prior to the election of a speaker." POOL Washington – 6 January 2022 5. Wide of Cheryl Johnson hammering the gavel 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Cheryl Johnson, House Clerk: "Members are reminded not to engage in personalities against other members of the House." 7. Wide of Cheryl Johnson talking with House members POOL Washington – 4 January 2022 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Cheryl Johnson, House Clerk: "No member elect, having received the majority of the votes cast, a speaker has not been elected." POOL Washington – 6 January 2022 9. Birdseye view of the House floor during voting STORYLINE: The extended drama over picking the next House speaker has put the normally understated position of House clerk in the spotlight. Cheryl Johnson, the 36th person to serve as clerk. Round by round, she has called for the start of each vote and has announced at the end that, once again, no speaker has been elected. Until a speaker is chosen, and the members-elect are officially sworn in, the clerk is in charge of the chamber, tasked with calling each day's session to order, calling the roll and deciding procedural questions that may arise. It's also up to the clerk to maintain order in the House chamber, which at times has involved using her gavel to tamp down a dull roar of chatter during the debate. A New Orleans native, Johnson has worked for the House for nearly two decades, serving as chief investigative counsel and spokesperson for the Committee on Education and the Workforce. She was also counsel for the committee with oversight over the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution, where she worked for 10 years liaising with congressional committees with jurisdiction over its funding. Her rising stature was best illustrated by a flub on the second day of voting, when a Republican standing up to speak inadvertently addressed her as "Madam speaker." =========================================================== Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e4ec03d452394d3f9d81fb74e8e24cf6