Jan. 4, 2023: How long can McCarthy hang on?

So how does this end? And how long will it take to end it?

Those are the questions towering over the new House Republican majority, which for the first time in 100 years, found itself unable to choose a speaker on the first ballot — or two others afterward.

The House is now paralyzed, unable to swear in its members or form committees or adopt rules — let alone pass legislation. And the scary realization for the GOP rank-and-file is that there’s no easy way out of this mess and no sign that one is going to appear anytime soon.

Playbook editor Mike DeBonis and co-author Rachael Bade break it all down, plus West Wing Playbook co-author and White House correspondent Eli Stokols stops by to discuss the view from the Biden administration.

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Raghu Manavalan is the host and senior editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.