Lessons Learned From House Speaker Election Drama

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington on Nov. 29, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Commentary

After a record-breaking 15 rounds of voting, characterized by brief bursts of internecine warfare interposed with much tedium and the occasional late-night pizza, California Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy was finally elected to the office of Speaker of the House late on Jan. 7.