Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton reacts after her reelection to the post on swearing-in day Jan. 7, 2025. (Capital-Star/Peter Hall)
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives began its new legislative session Tuesday like the previous session, with conditions ripe for partisan gridlock.
Instead, a dose of pragmatism and rule changes to give the minority Republican Caucus a fighting chance to advance its legislative agenda helped the chamber with an easy and orderly start to the 2025-2026 session.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd led the swearing in of 202 state representatives, including 16 first-term lawmakers, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats as the session began with one Democratic incumbent absent.
Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) returned to the post after Republican Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford) withdrew his nomination to lead the House following a deadlocked vote between the two.
Topper told reporters Tuesday that bowing out of a battle for the House speaker’s gavel would spare the House and its constituents a repeat of 2023, when the lack of a clear majority and the election of a compromise speaker resulted in months of inaction.