House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler took the oath of office on Monday, asserting his claim to the title of majority leader in the 203-member Pennsylvania House of Representatives where 101 Republicans can be seated to the Democrats’ 99.
As majority leader, he said that gives him the authority to schedule special election dates to fill the chamber’s three vacancies, which is what he said prompted his decision to be sworn in three weeks ahead of the start of the 2023-24 legislative session.
Standing in a nearly empty House chamber, Cutler, of Lancaster County, was sworn in by Dauphin County Judge John McNally. On hand to witness this brief ceremony were Reps. Tim O’Neal, R-Washington County, and Mark Gillen, R-Berks County, and some staffers along with members of the media.
“I was sworn in as the Republican leader,” Cutler told reporters during a news conference following the ceremony. “It is the math that makes me the majority leader at 101 to 99. In light of [two Democrats’] resignations and the unfortunate and untimely death of our good friend, Representative [Anthony] DeLuca, that is why Democrats are currently down three seats. So it’s the math that actually would make us the majority.”
However, House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia has something to say about that. She claims she holds the title as the chamber’s majority leader and the authority that goes with it.
Last Wednesday, McClinton took the oath of office in an unannounced ceremony on the House floor, which drew harsh criticism from Cutler. He called it an unprecedented power grab and a “paperwork insurrection.”
She said because 102 Democratic candidates won election to a House seat in the Nov. 8 election, one more than Republicans, she was the majority leader.
Three of those Democratic members who won election last month will not be seated on Jan. 3 when the House reconvenes. Besides DeLuca who died a month before the election, Reps. Austin Davis and Summer Lee resigned last Wednesday due to their election to lieutenant governor and Congress, respectively. All three of the House districts that elected them are in Allegheny County.
Cutler said Davis and Lee’s resignations coming weeks before they take on their new roles next month was part of the Democrats’ “rush to grab power and get the elections scheduled as early as possible.”
The Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau last week backed Cutler’s position, issuing an opinion stating that before Davis and Lee resigned, there was a 101-101 partisan divide in the chamber. That meant there was no majority.
McClinton, under the presumption that she was majority leader, issued writs calling for special elections to fill those three vacancies on Feb. 7.
Cutler said that action, along with the Department of State’s acceptance of her writs, is what forced him to file a lawsuit on Friday challenging McClinton’s authority to issue the writs and to stop those elections. He said it also is what led him to move ahead with his own swearing-in on Monday.
Being sworn in as a representative is a prerequisite to being the majority leader who can handle administrative duties that arise during the month between legislative sessions before a House speaker is elected. That includes calling for special elections to fill vacancies, which he has yet to set.
Cutler on Nov. 30 in his former capacity as House speaker issued a writ setting Feb. 7 as a special election date to fill the seat DeLuca formerly held. The Department of State rejected that writ, saying it was issued prematurely since DeLuca’s term didn’t expire until the end of the day on Nov. 30 and his seat didn’t become vacant until the next day.
Meanwhile, a House Democratic spokeswoman accused Cutler’s claim on the majority leader title as a stall tactic that would deny nearly 200,000 Allegheny County residents their right to representation.
“Attempting to delay these special elections passed that agreed upon day means prolonging the period in which Pennsylvanians are without representation so that Republican leaders can advance extremist policies, in flagrant opposition to the message delivered by Pennsylvanians on Election Day,” said House Democratic spokeswoman Nicole Reigelman.
“The state House needs to be restored to its full complement without needless delay and every Pennsylvanian must have representation as soon as possible, so the legislature can begin the work it was elected to do.”
Cutler countered that criticism, saying it was the actions taken by the Democrats that have caused this delay. He said the two sides could have worked out an arrangement to have a clear transfer of the chamber’s control.
“The problem is, is when you come to the floor of the House and you engage in activity in secret and you don’t inform other members of what you’re intending to do, that creates a relationship that lacks trust, and it creates a problem going forward,” he said.
Special elections must be held no sooner than 60 days after the writ is issued and no later than the next election. Cutler said he is waiting to hear from Allegheny County officials about how soon they can be ready to run the special elections.
A spokeswoman for Allegheny County said the county received the writs McClinton issued to hold the special elections on Feb. 7 as well as was served the lawsuit Cutler filed challenging the validity of those writs.
“While we await action by the court, we will move forward with preparation and other work necessary to conduct the special elections including confirming polling locations, scheduling poll workers and other administrative work,” said county spokeswoman Amie Downs. “Any election – no matter the date – takes weeks, and in some cases, months to prepare for and doing nothing is not an option.”
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.