b'When John Boehner suddenly retired in 2015, members of the House Freedom Caucus showed up at speaker-in-waiting Kevin McCarthy\\u2019s office with a list of demands: In exchange for their support, they wanted McCarthy to name one of their own to a senior leadership position and embrace rules changes that empowered conservatives. Yet seven years later, McCarthy once again finds his dream held hostage by the same group of hardliners. Thanks to the GOP\\u2019s lackluster midterm performance, he is seeking to preside over what appears likely to be an extremely thin majority \\u2014 a scenario that hands massive leverage to the far right.'