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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194

What Just Happened?

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 194: What Just Happened?

Kevin McCarthy Gets a Portrait

September 15, 2026 · 7:13 pm ET · Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Mr. McCarthy served as speaker for just 269 days, but his portrait will now hang in the Capitol in perpetuity. It is a testament to the brief, strange tenure of a Republican who served as a bridge between the establishment-led GOP and the party it became after being fully subsumed by President Trump.”

“The portrait, which shows Mr. McCarthy standing by an open window with a slight smile on his face, captures his sunny personality and optimistic outlook, which he kept up even while proving himself to be a glutton for political punishment.”

The portrait is a fitting reminder that political ambition can take decades to fulfill and only moments to unravel.
Taegan

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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