Kevin McCarthy makes history just not the way he imagined.

The office of Speaker of the House is hereby declared vacant.

In a week that can go down in the books is one of the most historic imaginable.

Kevin McCarthy loses his speakership.

You need someone who can unite the conference that I think I can do.

That's why I'm running for the job.

I've got a long proven record.

Somebody who knows how to unify Republicans to fight on the battles that matter.

And the race to see who could possibly govern the Republican House caucus is well underway.

Plus, MAGA extremists plunge Congress into pandemonium.

The anarchic spirit that is alive and well among House Republicans threatens to exacerbate the federal government's dysfunction

and places support for Ukraine and peril just as another potential shutdown looms.

Next.

This is Washington Week with The Atlantic.

Good evening and welcome to Washington Week.

Last week we asked whether Kevin McCarthy had the worst job in Washington.

We now have our answer.

Kevin McCarthy doesn't have the worst job in Washington because he doesn't have a job.

Technically, of course, he's still a member of Congress, so he's employed.

But it will be up to someone else to try to build a stable ruling majority in the House.

McCarthy's demonstration was dramatic but in retrospect inevitable.

Now we have the prospect of Donald Trump promising to heal the wounds of the Republican Party.

...