The concessions demanded of new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., by the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus may, as speculated, weaken his position as leader of the chamber. But it also produced some reforms that could actually make Congress more deliberative and responsive.
Over the course of a contentious week, Republicans took 15 votes for speaker before finally pushing McCarthy over the top late Friday. The roughly 20 far-right members who were opposing his selection held out for significant changes in how the GOP caucus will operate.
Some of the concessions demanded by the dissenters stand out as clear improvements to the status quo.
