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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Next Big Challenge

Dr. Munr Kazmir
4 min readJan 10, 2023

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The slim Republican House majority is a tightrope for the new Speaker.

Kevin McCarthy and other House Republicans coming down the steps of the House for a press conference on their Commitment to America, 9/29/22. (Photo: Victoria Pickering)

What a difference a year makes.

Last year, right around this time, Elon Musk was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was ruling over the House of Representatives with an iron fist.

In those days, everyone who was anyone was driving a Tesla — at least at the Los Angeles Times, apparently — and Elon Musk was one of the left’s favorite West Coast sons.

On the East Coast, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the one ruling the House of Representatives with an iron fist, attempting to manage the unmanageable, govern the ungovernable, and corral disparate and diametrically opposed lawmakers from deep blue cities and swing states.

It is sometimes said in professional medical circles that doctors make terrible patients. The same might be said of America’s elected leaders and governors: They don’t like being governed much and often make the process difficult.

Other types of House lawmakers can be even more unwieldy, and there are some in both major political parties and everywhere in between.

Some elected officials, like Nancy Pelosi, are inclined to view the House of Representatives as a long-term career choice and are likely to…

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