It was after midnight when House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy finally became Speaker McCarthy after the 15th vote. And, of course, the first action that the House took after that was to adjourn and go home. Next week they will begin working on finalizing the new rules package. The fifteen ballots was the largest number seen since before the Civil War. The fight didn’t end with any sort of revelatory kumbaya moment, however, and it may wind up being something of a pyrrhic victory for the new Speaker. We still don’t know the full details of all of the deals that McCarthy cut with the Freedom Caucus to get over the finish line, but he will be assuming the role in a significantly weaker position than his predecessor. But at least for the moment, all of the members have been sworn in and the People’s House can get down to business when they return. (NY Post)Read More