Question

1. what do the speaker of the house and president pro tempore have in common?

○ they are both members of the house of representatives.
○ they only vote in the case of a tie.
○ they are only leaders if the vice president is not available to preside.
○ they are members of the majority party of their respective house.

Explanation:

• The Speaker of the House is elected from the majority party in the House of Representatives. The president pro tempore of the Senate is also selected from the majority party in the Senate.
• Option A is wrong because the president pro tempore is a senator, not a member of the House.
• Option B: The Speaker of the House votes regularly, not just in ties; the president pro tempore of the Senate also doesn't only vote in ties (the vice president, who presides over the Senate, votes in ties, but the president pro tempore votes as a regular senator).
• Option C: The Speaker of the House is a regular leader of the House, not dependent on the vice president's availability. The president pro tempore is a leader of the Senate, and the vice president's role is to preside, not that the president pro tempore only leads when the vice president is unavailable in the sense of leadership (the president pro tempore is a standing leader of the Senate from the majority party).

Answer:

D. They are members of the majority party of their respective house.