Caucuses, and what they will mean for the House & Youth Senate
Caucus (n), defined as ‘a conference of members of a legislative body who belong to a particular party or faction.’ But for the Youth Assembly, it could mean where the balance of power tilts. Both chambers of the Youth Assembly, House & Senate, will meet (virtually) for their respective orientations in December. At those orientations, members-elect will vote to approve draft rules, most certainly form and join caucuses, and elect caucus leadership. For many, the race to build a majority has already started.
The House of Youth Representatives
For the House of Youth Representatives, the lower body of the Youth Assembly, 250 young people will be sent to represent constituencies of young people from all US States and U.S. Territories in this body. Their orientation is set for December 3rd-6th, 2020. The virtual orientation will most likely be facilitated by someone from the National Youth Rights Association, according to a source close to the transition. Obviously, a house that has not been organized or seated yet will need to be facilitated until leadership is elected. At this meeting, members will do a host of things. According to the Youth Government’s official website: This is the official orientation of the United States House of Youth Representatives. Members will have the opportunity to join and form caucuses, elect leadership, and approve a draft of the House Rules.”
That might sound basic, but it’s most important to ensuring a functioning and organized house. Most important are House rules. Currently, parliamentary and legal experts are working to create a template of draft rules for the House. These rules will be introduced by a Member-elect, and approved at the orientation. They must be finalized and approved on January 4th, too. The rules detail the functions of the house, how elections will take place, parliamentary & voting procedure, debate procedure, establishes leadership positions, and formulates committees. Some committees are mandatory, such as committees that will provide oversight to the executive departments.
However, outside of all of this — formulating caucuses will be the biggest function. So, what’s the deal with that? Well, any member can form a caucus. Any member can join a caucus. The caucus with a majority of membership will be in the House Majority, therefore setting the schedule and agenda of the house and running the house floor. Yet, that’s not the end. The caucus with a majority will most likely choose the Speaker of the House. 126 votes are needed to elect a Speaker, and membership of that number likewise to possess a strong majority. Any caucus with less than that number will need a coalition, likely. So far, the race for the majority in the house has been slow but ongoing. It looks as though a Progressive Caucus will form and the President-elect (possibly) favors it. There is no word at this time as to who is leading that effort in the House, but we do know what’s going on in the Youth Senate.
The Youth Senate
In the Youth Senate, its 100 members will represent all 50 U.S. States. The chamber will be responsible for approving the Youth President’s executive & judicial appointments, and foreign agreements. There was already a fight about Manley’s selection strategy for the Supreme Youth Court over twitter. While that has died down mostly, it looks like Manley is well prepared to keep the Youth Senate as allies, rather than partisan combatants. Jason Irr is Youth Senator-elect for the State of Arizona. He won the race without opposition. His fellow Youth Senator will be Alex Walton, who doesn’t appear to be liberal or left of center. I could be wrong, yet Walton currently serves as Director of Operations for Log Cabin Republicans.
Anyways, Manley picked Irr to serve as Chair of the Manley-Hill Transition Team. In that role, Irr is supposedly responsible for assisting with vetting appointments for executive and judicial seats, and ensuring a speedy confirmation. Manley told other members that he asked Irr to form the Progressive Caucus in the Youth Senate. We are unsure how successful thats been, but we do know that there will be one. The question is — will it be in the majority? A majority in the youth senate is 51 votes or members. It is unlikely that one caucus will achieve that magic number. So, the scenario at play is a) the caucus with a plurality leads with a coalition of youth senators from other caucuses.
Here’s the Breakdown in the House or Youth Senate
These ratings are mine, and may be incorrect.
House of Youth Representatives
Left-wing, Progressive: Miranda, Thinger, Bloom, Tarin, Anderson, Speed
Center: Hernandez
Right-wing/Conservative: Elliot, Gately, Bryant
Unsure: Peralta, Burns, Hayes, McNelis, Carter, O’Neal
United States Youth Senate
Left-wing: Echavarria, Ferguson, Crow, Irr, Ballon, Holdiness, Quiroga
Center: Cunningham, Dabney-Small, Powell
Right-wing/Conservative: Walton, Parsons
Unsure:
