Kevin McCarthy

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  1/24/2023
  

  McCarthy Kicking Dems off Key Committees Isn't Just Retaliation, it's Enabling the GOP Agenda

  by Josh Kluever

  McCarthy's use of "anti-American" in his rhetorical objections to particular Democrats suggests he wants to eliminate prominent Democrats from positions where they can object to Republican policies in House committees and police the boundaries of acceptable political opinion. 

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• SOURCE: WGBH
  1/10/2022
  

  Historian Joanne Freeman on What Follows Speaker Battle

  "It would be hard to exaggerate the degree to which rules can be weapons in Congress if they're deployed the right way." 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  1/7/2023
  

  Laugh at McCarthy's Travails, but History Shows Chaotic Congress Isn't a Joke

  by Joanne B. Freeman

  Protracted Speakership battles have always reflected moments where factions struggled over power in ways that the party systems of the day couldn't contain. Today, the differences at stake aren't about policy, but power, making the moment particularly dire. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  1/9/2023
  

  What Can We Learn from the 1923 Speaker Fight?

  by Christopher McKnight Nichols and Maxine Wagenhoffer

  Intraparty factionalism was prevalent then as now, but the most recent speaker battle shows that the forces of party discipline that could moderate factional strife have fallen away, making bomb-throwing and grandstanding politically rewarding. 

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• 1/6/2023
  

  "You Don't Have the Votes": The House Speaker Fight Echoes 1839

  by Michael Trapani

  With multiple votes, partisan hostility, and charges of an electoral "steal" in the air, the House Speaker battle of 1839 offers a compelling comparison to today. 

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• 1/4/2023
  

  Republicans (Finally) Rally Around McCarthy as Speaker

  Kevin McCarthy has secured the speakership through apparent deals allowing a group of right-wing hardliners to have greater influence over legislation and more investigative power. Historians followed the voting and discuss what comes next. 

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  10-13-15
  

  What the Fight for the Speakership Is Actually About

  by John Lawrence

  Republicans are split on how to balance broad participation against the efficient functioning of the institution.