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A powerful orator and innovative Speaker of the House, Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine served as part of the three-man majority of the House Rules Committee along with the Chairmen of Ways and Means and Appropriations. In the 51st Congress (1889-1891), Reed threw the House into turmoil. He arbitrarily replaced the traditional "disappearing quorum" with the "counting quorum." Previously, a House member had to cast his vote to be considered present. A group of obstructionists, therefore, could withhold their ballots and halt progress on a bill due to a lack of a quorum. The Speaker's bold action eliminated this ploy. In 1896,Reed lost the Republican presidential nomination to William McKinley, the man he had started on the road to the White House by his appointment to the chairmanship of Ways and Means. Reed himself served on the committee in five Congresses. |
