Lisa Desjardins:
He is a linchpin, because, obviously, you need both chambers to agree. And he is the head of not just any Republican Conference, but one of the trickiest Republican Conferences in modern history to navigate.
He has members of his conference that are ardently for parts of Ukraine aid, parts of the border deal, and some who are ardently against it. And underneath all of this, as he also tries to negotiate spending, above him hangs that sword where any single member of the Republican Conference can still move to oust him from his job.
His job is on the line in these major tasks that they are now squeezed into a few weeks to handle. What's more, it's gotten even harder. Why? The former speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, has resigned. He leaves office officially at the end of this year. By leaving, that means their very slim margin is now even smaller.
George Santos, also a Republican now out of office. So, essentially they have got three votes, one way or the other, that they can spare. And all of this is something that this brand-new speaker, who's never been chairman of a House committee, has to figure out in a very short period of time. The stakes are incredibly high.
It's hard to see how he navigates it, but he has to. And there has to be some kind of bipartisan deal, I think, on all of this for it to succeed.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sa7SZ6arn1%2Bjsri%2Fx6isq2ejnby4e8KopaCqlajAbrjEmq2eq12bvLN5x6ijopyRrnqjvsSaomaopai1qrrGZqykqpGeu6Z5wKKbZpqfp7GmvoysnJytop7BunnTmqOkq12pvG62wKesmqqp