Republicans in the House of Representatives failed for a second straight day to elect a leader on Wednesday (January 4), as a faction of holdouts continued to not vote for Kevin Mcarthy (R-CA). In a massive embarrassment for the GOP, this was the time since 1923 that a nominee of the majority party in the House wasn’t able to win the first vote for the position of Speaker. Most of Mcarthy’s opposition from his own party comes from some of the chamber’s most ultra-conservative, hard-right lawmakers. At least 95 per cent are members of the House Freedom Caucus (or were...