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A Democrat-turned-independent is the Pa. House speaker | Morning Newsletter

And Scott Perry blocks Kevin McCarthy’s bid for House speaker

Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks speaks with members of the media at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Monday, March 22, 2021. Majority Republicans in the state Senate announced Monday they will not employ a rarely used emergency process to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give victims of child sexual abuse a 2-year window in which to file civil lawsuits. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks speaks with members of the media at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Monday, March 22, 2021. Majority Republicans in the state Senate announced Monday they will not employ a rarely used emergency process to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give victims of child sexual abuse a 2-year window in which to file civil lawsuits. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)Read moreMatt Rourke / AP
    by Taylor Allen
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Rain showers are likely to hit the area, with a high of 66 degrees.

Today’s newsletter is all about speaker of the House elections. From Harrisburg to Washington, D.C., yesterday was an eventful day.

Our main story focuses on the Pennsylvania House. After weeks of uncertainty in Harrisburg over which party will control the chamber, lawmakers chose veteran Berks County Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Democrat who said he’d govern as an independent.

If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

A Democrat-turned-independent is now speaker of the Pa. House after a surprise vote

Pennsylvania House lawmakers elected Rep. Mark Rozzi (I., Berks) speaker of the House Tuesday.

Important note: The Democrat-turned-independent said he would not caucus with Democrats or Republicans.

Democrats and more than a dozen Republicans voted for him, despite the GOP currently holding a slight majority in the House.

Reminders: Democrats won 102 seats in November’s midterm elections, giving them a slight edge in the 203-member house. But three vacancies in Democratic-held seats left the party with only 99 members compared to Republicans’ 101. Both a Democratic and a Republican leader claimed to be the rightful presiding officer.

Continue reading to understand how the two parties’ weeks-long power struggle resulted in a breakthrough.

Pa.’s Scott Perry is a key roadblock to Kevin McCarthy’s speaker bid

Meanwhile in national news, we still don’t know who will be the speaker of the House.

U.S. Rep Scott Perry (R., Pa.) became a leading roadblock Tuesday preventing Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) from becoming the leader of the chamber.

Perry, the leader of the House’s hard-right Freedom Caucus, was one of the 19 Republicans who defied McCarthy in three votes.

The playing field: Republicans hold only a narrow majority in the House, so defiance from Perry and others has endangered McCarthy’s push to become speaker. It illustrates the power that a few uncooperative GOP lawmakers will have to slow or stop House business in the new Congress.

The vote marks the first time in 100 years that a potential speaker failed to win enough votes on the first try.

Keep reading to understand the rift within the GOP.

What you should know today

  1. Michael Nutter hasn’t ruled out a run for Philadelphia mayor.

  2. Columnist Marcus Hayes argues that the NFL fumbled the Damar Hamlin situation and says it’s the latest example of the league not caring about its players.

  3. Chestnut Hill Hospital is now part of Temple University Health System.

  4. John Fetterman took the oath of office Tuesday to become the 54th senator in Pennsylvania history.

  5. Customers applauded a Kensington brewery after it announced children will no longer be allowed in its taproom after 2 p.m.

  6. Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.

🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠

Which Sixer was named NBA Eastern Conference player of the month in December?

A) Joel Embiid

B) James Harden

C) Tobias Harris

D) Shake Milton

Find out if you know the answer.

What we’re...

🏠 Imagining: Columnist Inga Saffron’s proposition to preserve the Roundhouse and redevelop the area as a model neighborhood with substantial affordable housing. 🔑

👀 Watching: Sam Bankman-Fried’s not guilty plea in the FTX fraud case could become one of the most high-profile white collar trials in recent years.

🍴Craving: Ethiopian fried chicken from University City’s Doro Bet. (Craig LaBan dubbed it as one of Philly’s best chicken dishes of 2022).

🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩

Hint: former mayor

HORNET JETS

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Email us if you know the answer.

Photo of the Day

And that’s everything you need to begin your day. Thanks for starting it with The Inquirer.