Temporary Speaker Steers House on the Fly

“Just moments after the stunning ouster of Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a clerk revealed the name of the new, temporary leader: Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. He now faces the hardest job on Capitol Hill,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The bow-tied House Republican veteran, the top entry on a secret list prepared by McCarthy as part of post-9/11 protocols, is charged with running the chamber until a new leader is elected. That contest could be resolved next week but could also stretch longer, given the deep fractures within his party. Both of the candidates so far—House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R., La.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio)— have broad bases of support, and neither had a clear lead as of Thursday.”