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The last time there was a gaping hole where the speaker of the House should sit, all of nine months ago, former five-term congressman Justin Amash of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was on Capitol Hill, watching his old nemesis Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R–Calif.) twist in the wind, and reminding people in a loud stage whisper that you don't have to be a sitting member of Congress to be speaker. Heck, you don't even have to belong to a major political party!
Like a lot of Libertarian dreams, Amash's longshot bid to be a one-term compromise speaker fizzled without attracting much attention. This time around, aside from tweeting out some good riddances, parliamentary arcana, and the odd Lord of the Rings joke, the process-obsessed ex-pol has exhibited no particular lust for the cursed gavel.