Steve Benen is a producer for 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of 'The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics.'
It was roughly 24 hours ago when Rep. Matt Gaetz was asked whether he expected his effort to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to succeed. The Florida Republican was not especially optimistic, telling reporters that the incumbent GOP leader would “probably” survive the far-right effort, at least until the next time Gaetz and his cohorts tried. As it turns out, the far-right Floridian was overly pessimistic. In the history of the United States, a sitting House speaker has never been ousted.
Patrick McHenry of North Carolina alerted members to the fact that he’ll now serve as speaker pro tempore, thanks to a private succession list that McCarthy submitted to the House clerk in January. The resulting dynamic isn’t identical to the mess the public saw in early January: At that point, there was no member overseeing the chamber. In contrast, McHenry is serving in an acting capacity. As for what happens now, Congress finds itself in unchartered waters.
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