Who’s in charge in the 118th Congress?

The new Republican House majority is off to a shaky start. We’ll unpack the drama over committee assignments, the debt ceiling fight and a House speaker who has a very precarious hold on power.  

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The 118th Congress started with a long and contentious vote for House speaker. After 15 rounds of voting, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) won that fight, but he’s still struggling to seize control of an unruly party with a slim House majority. 

McCarthy is now negotiating committee assignments with input from a small but vocal far-right contingent. And he’s reeling from controversy surrounding a freshman member of the House, George Santos (R-N.Y.).

On top of all that, Democrats and Republicans are in a fight over the debt limit, with no easy path forward.

Reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell joins us to walk us through this chaotic Congress.