Speaker Kevin McCarthy had a rocky start toward leading the lower chamber – dramatic, televised wrangling on the House floor with some of the most conservative members of the House Republican Conference to get the votes he needed to be leader.
The Republican House has under McCarthy so far passed dozens of bills, many of them bipartisan, including efforts targeting crime and the COVID-19 pandemic that essentially forced President Biden to sign the bills into law.
Under McCarthy, a California Republican, the House GOP Conference also has opened the Capitol more fully to visitors.
“He’s performed better than I thought he would,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., the past chairman of the Freedom Caucus, in an interview. “I can’t complain.”