Republicans Play Chicken With Kevin McCarthy’s Speakership

With the all-important vote looming less than two weeks away, the question of whether Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) becomes Speaker of the House seems to hinge on a simple question: Who’s bluffing?

As the California Republican works to lock down the 218 votes needed to get the Speaker’s gavel, two opposing camps within the Republican conference have dug in.

The “Never Kevin” camp is small: just five archconservative lawmakers have publicly said they will not, under any circumstances, vote for McCarthy. But if they stick to their guns, five votes...