When Rep. Fred Upton announced his retirement from Congress, colleagues in both parties lined up to lament. The one who misses him the most, in the end, may be Kevin McCarthy.

The Michigan Republican’s departure after 18 terms is the latest in a series of blows to the House’s small but mighty group of GOP dealmakers, a loose bloc of lawmakers who — despite a party shifting rightward — still favor compromise over obstinacy. They will prove critical to Republican leaders’ ability to run the chamber next year should they win back the House as expected, regardless of the margin of that victory…

“We can’t have this mindset of ‘burn the House down,’” said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, another Republican with a bipartisan streak who plans to stick around next year. “We got to be a governing party when we’re in the majority, so we need people like Upton and folks like that. So other people have to step up.”…

“We’re gonna be in a majority, so it’s not gonna be just about saying no to things anymore,” said Katko, who added that believes other members will fill the void as he and other practiced legislators depart. “We got to be able to bend a bit, and I think Kevin’s talking about that already.”