
John Leganski discusses the dramatic Speaker's race in January 2023 with Newt Gingrich.
In January 2023, Kevin McCarthy endured five grueling days and 15 rounds of balloting to win the Speaker's gavel — the most dramatic Speaker's race in a century. John Leganski was at the center of it all. As McCarthy's Deputy Chief of Staff and the youngest floor director in House history, he watched up close as a small band of "Never Kevins" brought the People's House to a standstill. Now he's written the definitive inside account: Glory, Grief, and the Gavel. Leganski joins Newt — himself a former Speaker — for a candid conversation about the "Maybe Kevins" versus the "Never Kevins," the last-minute phone call where President Trump unleashed a private tirade, the emotional moment the gavel was finally won, and how the very coalition that delivered the speakership ultimately destroyed it nine months later. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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