House speaker saga underscores Republican party’s dramatic evolution

Party still faces issue of how to reunite their fractious majority and prove to skeptical US public that they are capable of governing

The US House of Representatives will remain leaderless into a third week as Republicans continue to confront a familiar conundrum: how to unite their fractious majority and prove to a skeptical US public that they are a party capable of governing, not just funneling rightwing outrage and culture war rhetoric.

More than a week after a cadre of discontented Republicans deposed their own speaker, Kevin McCarthy, the conference is still deeply divided over who should replace him with no one candidate seemingly able to garner enough support to end the squabbling.