KEVIN!

Ooh, the opening of the U.S. House of Representatives in the new Congress today is going to be fun.

Kevin McCarthy is in line to become Speaker of the House, but he has a bare majority of Republicans and enough of them are so dead set against voting for McCarthy to be Speaker because of his past efforts at compromising and his Washington insider status that it could take more than one ballot to elect a Speaker.  The last time that happened was a hundred years ago - 1923 - in which Speaker Frederick Gillett (R-MA) had to go through multiple ballots to win a third term to the office.

McCarthy has made so many concessions to far-right Republicans that would weaken his own powers and give much more control over the agenda to the pro-Trump wing that he he would have almost no power at all.  But his concessions have satisfied no one among the Trumpist crowd.  Any more concessions from him, and as Speaker he'll end up doing nothing but cutting ribbons.

Democrats, who will be voting for Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker, won't have to do anything to worsen the predicament Republicans are in.  They'll simply sit back and watch the tenuous ties between the so-called moderates and the Trump Republicans unravel faster than the threads on a cheap sweater.

As I said, this is going to be fun.