Why Kevin McCarthy’s dream is in big trouble

Tuesday should have been a joyous day for Republicans in Congress, as they kicked off two years as the majority party in the House of Representatives by swearing in new members and electing one of their own as speaker of the House. Instead, Tuesday’s vote for speaker showed just how dysfunctional the GOP has become and what a precarious position the party has put itself in.

Despite finding themselves in the minority, it was Democrats who were jubilant on Tuesday, voting unanimously for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the first African American to lead a major party in Congress, as speaker. He succeeded Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House, who led House Democrats for two decades.

Republicans struck a far dourer note. Minority leader Kevin McCarthy was unable to scrounge up the votes he needed for the speakership – the first time in a century that the vote has had to go beyond a first ballot. Even though McCarthy knew he didn’t have the votes he needed going into the selection process, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik from New York put on a bizarrely confident show when she announced his nomination, citing midterm wins that delivered a Republican majority to the House under McCarthy’s leadership.