Even if McCarthy prevails — and that is highly questionable, as of this writing — he will only have done so by making unprecedented concessions to his foes within his own partisan caucus.
"To what extent, if any, would he return House rules to “regular order,” whereby bills are drafted and marked up in decentralized committees, rather than unilaterally imposed by the speaker’s office? To what extent would he stack committee chairmanships with like-minded allies, and to what extent would he be forced to offer some chairman gavels to skeptical conservatives? To what extent would he direct the new Republican majority to focus on passing substantive legislation, and to what extent would he focus on subpoenaing and investigating the Biden administration? Would the so-called “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair be restored to the prerogative of a single House member, as was the case for two centuries?
"As of this writing, none of these questions can be answered because McCarthy is not the speaker of the House. Nor is anyone else, for that matter. Eleven ballots in, there is no winner. The race for speaker of the House has not taken this many ballots since 1859 — before the Civil War. A set of roughly 20 House conservatives, led by Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Chip Roy (R-TX), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Scott Perry (R-PA), has repeatedly defied McCarthy on ballot after ballot. The California Republican has yielded numerous concessions to the holdouts, but there is still no resolution. It is unclear how the stalemate will end.
"But the mere fact that, even if McCarthy does prevail, he will necessarily have had to work harder for it than any new House speaker in over 160 years, comes replete with lessons. There are myriad cautionary lessons to be found here in the malodorous wreckage: for McCarthy himself, for McCarthy-endorsing former President Donald Trump, and for the legacy conservative pundits who have emerged as some of McCarthy’s most impassioned supporters."
"His political philosophy and guiding principles are to this day largely unknown, to the perhaps-dubious extent they exist at all. True, he is a well-known prolific fundraiser who knows how to work a room full of donors — but what exactly has that accomplished for either the GOP or the conservative cause, of late? McCarthy is best understood as an empty suit and a quintessential Swamp creature — someone who lives and breathes the D.C. game, who is cozy with K Street, and whose main lodestar is cutting deals and expending political capital in order to boost his own political fortunes.". . . Emphasis mine. TD
. . ."On Thursday, McCarthy lost a ninth consecutive vote for the speakership, picking up just 200 of the necessary 218 votes. Seventeen Republicans cast votes for Byron Donalds (R-FL) and three chose Kevin Hern (R-OK). The vote came after McCarthy met with the holdouts Wednesday night and made several significant concessions designed to get him to the magic number.
"The concessions reportedly included allowing a motion from a sole member to force a vote on ousting the speaker, more key committee seats for Freedom Caucus members, a promise to hold votes on term limits and border security, and appropriations changes aimed at preventing another omnibus spending bill. McCarthy also reportedly agreed to keep his super PAC, Congressional Leadership Fund out of Republican primary races for open seats.". . .
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