When the Republicans won the majority of the U.S. House of Representatives in November’s elections, Nancy Pelosi found herself without a job and the House scrambling to find a new speaker. Pelosi will continue on as a congresswoman, but the job of speaker is now in the hands of Kevin McCarthy.
It took 15 tries for the House to finally decide on McCarthy, and he was only able to secure the position after making so many concessions to the Republicans that he will now be beholden to them as long as he holds the gavel. His concessions include decentralizing his own power and agreeing to a new rule that makes it easier to oust him. The entire process of choosing a new speaker took days and was so tumultuous that congressmen Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) almost came to blows on the House floor.