After 15 ballots the US House finally elected Kevin McCarthy to be the 55th Speaker. It was the most ballots to determine a Speaker in over 100 years. Why is the Republican disunity of such concern to analysts like me who follow DC?

The vote for Speaker is one of the easiest votes a Member of Congress will cast, which is why it has been accomplished in one vote for 100 years.  Leaders, be they Nancy Pelosi or Newt Gingrich, have lined up their majority before the gavel brings a new Congress into session.  Why did Kevin McCarthy fail this basic test of leadership?

It appears that some of the most conservative Members of the Republican Conference in the House simply didn’t trust McCarthy.  This lack of trust led to the vote holdouts and to demands for rule changes that include an easy course of action to vote the Speaker out of office.  A vote to remove the Speaker will be permitted if only one renegade Member asks for the vote, and the irony is that with only a four seat majority such a vote could place Democrats in the driver’s seat as to whether or not the Speaker recall succeeds or fails. This and the other House Rules Republicans have agreed to will be voted on by the House this week.

Another reported agreement that could have big implications...

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