WASHINGTON — It was a near-fist fight on the House floor. It was four days of name-calling, late-night huddles, rush deliveries of pizzas and burritos. It was cigar smoke wafting through the hallways, diaper changes and a dog on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Establishment Republicans were horrified. Democrats snickered. Comedian Jon Stewart called it the best season of C-SPAN ever.
In this circus began the first week of the new Congress with Republicans in charge of the House but conflicted about their leader, Kevin McCarthy. Rules weren’t broken because they were nonexistent. Post-Civil War records were shattered, and long-held Republican traditions were abandoned.
