November 18, 2022 6:30 am

Kevin McCarthy’s Task

The party should demonstrate that it’s pro-family and pro–law and order, while trying to sell itself to the middle again as serious and competent.

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Then-House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) and fellow Republicans hold a news conference about the Save Our Sequoias Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2022.

Mary F. Calvert/Reuters

Kevin McCarthy may now have the hardest job in Washington.

Assuming that he becomes speaker of the House, which will require the near-unanimous support of his caucus and isn’t necessarily a forgone conclusion, he’s signing up for the most miserable experience of any congressional leader since John Boehner barely controlled a Republican House majority in the Obama years.