Kevin McCarthy elected House speaker on the 15th vote, most since before the Civil War

Assessment: A weak Republican party moves forward, will anything change?  At long last, a battle for House speaker not seen since the mid-19th century ended early Saturday morning when Rep. Kevin McCarthy peeled off enough Republican holdouts on the 15th ballot to end the four-day marathon contest. McCarthy, a California Republican, took hold of the gavel after appeasing members of the House Freedom Caucus with promises to cap spending at 2022 levels, allow any one