2 U.S.C. § 25 — Oath of Speaker, Members, and Delegates

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At the start of each new Congress, a member gives the Speaker the oath of office. The Speaker then swears in all present Members, Delegates, and the Clerk before other business starts. Signed oath copies are filed and recorded, and they count as solid proof in any U.S. court.

At the first session of Congress after every general election of Representatives, the oath of office is administered by any Member of the House of Representatives to the Speaker. The Speaker then administers it to all Members and Delegates present, and to the Clerk, before any other business starts. Members and Delegates who arrive later take the oath before taking their seats. Starting with the Eightieth Congress and every Congress after it, the Clerk of the House of Representatives must have the oath of office printed, and must give two copies to each Member or Delegate who has taken the oath of office as the law requires. Each of them signs the oath copies in person, then delivers them to the Clerk. One copy is filed in the House's records, and the other is recorded in the House Journal and the Congressional Record. These signed copies — or certified copies of them, or of either record — are admissible as evidence in any U.S. court, and count as conclusive proof that the signer duly took the oath of office as the law requires.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

At the first session of Congress after every general election of Representatives, the oath of office shall be administered by any Member of the House of Representatives to the Speaker; and by the Speaker to all the Members and Delegates present, and to the Clerk, previous to entering on any other business; and to the Members and Delegates who afterward appear, previous to their taking their seats.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives of the Eightieth and each succeeding Congress shall cause the oath of office to be printed, furnishing two copies to each Member and Delegate who has taken the oath of office in accordance with law, which shall be subscribed in person by the Member or Delegate, who shall thereupon deliver them to the Clerk, one to be filed in the records of the House of Representatives, and the other to be recorded in the Journal of the House and in the Congressional Record; and such signed copies, or certified copies thereof, or of either of such records thereof, shall be admissible in evidence in any court of the United States, and shall be held conclusive proof of the fact that the signer duly took the oath of office in accordance with law.

Source credit: (R.S. § 30; Feb. 18, 1948, ch. 53, 62 Stat. 20.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1948Enacted · Act of Feb. 18, 1948, ch. 53 · 62 Stat. 20

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