McCarthy pointedly declined to endorse Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.) or Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to succeed him. Nor would he say what he would do if Republican members nominate him again to the speakership this week. McCarthy called it the “wrong” message for the world to not have a speaker amid the crisis: “Is our conference just going to select somebody, only to throw them out in another 81 days?” Any attempt to reinstall McCarthy would face long odds. Scalise and Jordan have already lined up endorsements for the speakership, and McCarthy’s detractors remain dug in against him. The former speaker...