A small group of longtime Kevin McCarthy aides who decamped downtown to
lobby are suddenly some of the most influential and sought-after people
in Washington. They remain intensely loyal to the new speaker and serve
as crucial sources of insight into his thinking and strategy.

Ben Howard, now at the Duberstein Group, was McCarthy’s floor director.
He was with him through all of the fraught moments of the John Boehner
era, including in 2015 when Boehner retired and McCarthy lost out on
securing his job. Howard saw up close how driven McCarthy was to get a
second shot at becoming speaker.

“I used to sit in the office with Kevin,” Howard told Ryan Lizza, host
of Playbook Deep Dive. “We would dream about this day. We would dream
about it.” 

But Howard has a bone to pick. He doesn’t like the way that everyone is
talking about his old boss. The conventional wisdom about the new
speaker is that he gave up everything to secure the job and that he’s
one misstep away from losing it if he angers his restive Freedom Caucus
colleagues.

According to Howard, that bit of Washington C.W. is wrong.

For this week’s episode of the Playbook Deep Dive podcast, Playbook
co-author Ryan Lizza talked to Howard in his Penn Quarter office to
understand the view from McCarthy world. They had a wide-ranging
conversation about the state of the House GOP, the impact of the rules
changes McCarthy agreed to in order to win the gavel, the debt limit
faceoff, and McCarthy’s relationship with President Biden.

Oh, and also about that time Howard was chewed out by GOP members for
ruining the most famous episode of Game of Thrones.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Ben Howard is a Partner for the Duberstein Group.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.