CNN —As the dust settles on the tenure of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, there are lessons the Republican Party should learn. As the Republican caucus considers its next steps, they must choose a leader whose stewardship signals a clear break from the past. Here are the ways that Trump triggered the events that fueled McCarthy’s downfall. In 2022, Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, a former football star whose controversial candidacy was fueled by his connection to the former president, met the same fate. Fast forward less than a year and Trump was nowhere to be found when McCarthy’s fate as speaker hung in the balance.

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