'You ain’t seen nothing yet': New analysis explains why McCarthy may be leading the 'most dysfunctional Congress ever'

07 January 2023

While Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has fought an uphill battle to victory, a new analysis is explaining why this may only be the beginning of the Republican chaos to come.

"You ain’t seen nothing yet," wrote Yahoo! News correspondent Andrew Romano, adding, "The unbridled chaos of this week’s speaker debacle simultaneously confirmed and compounded an unsettling truth: The United States could be on the cusp of its most dysfunctional Congress ever."

Romano also shed light on what this week's series of events suggests and the message it sends to the small faction of far-right Republican lawmakers.

"With a narrowly divided chamber, 222-to-212, the new speaker has shown the far-right wing of his caucus that they can get their way through obstruction — a recipe for nonstop hostage-taking by small factions going forward," he wrote.

According to Romano, the occurrences this week will likely continue for McCarthy.

"The problem for Congress," Romano wrote, "is that McCarthy will probably have to continue prostrating himself in order to keep his new job. Why? Because in the process of winning their votes, he awarded his captors nearly every demand on their wishlist — empowering them to continue to obstruct business whenever it suits their purposes."

"So while McCarthy might have won his coveted speakership, Congress itself may prove to be out of control," he surmised.

Another issue that could create challenges and complications for McCarthy is the slim majority his party has which opens the door for that small faction of opposing lawmakers to use as leverage.

"The real issue is that the current, 10-seat Republican majority is so small — and McCarthy’s speakership victory so slim — that the threat of defection is likely to loom over every bill, giving the same rebels who have paralyzed Congress this week endless opportunities to do the same thing again and again," he explained.

"And that means leverage," Romano added.

McCarthy's win comes as a number of lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have also questioned McCarthy's ability to lead. From the Democratic side, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) recently shared his prediction of the next two years under McCarthy's leadership as he expressed concern about the chamber saying, “He’s going to be the weakest speaker. The problem is that he’s also weakened the institution in general."