Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Republicans chose California congressman Kevin McCarthy to serve as the next House majority leader in a closed-door election today. The 49-year-old, who easily beat out his only opponent, Idaho’s Raul Labrador, will take over for Eric Cantor on July 31 when Cantor resigns as leader and moves back to the fetid pool of the rank and file for his final few months in office. McCarthy’s rapid ascent to House majority leader comes less than eight years after his first election to Congress. If the company he keeps is any indication, he’s not done yet.
