Virtually all McCarthy watchers who spoke to us agree that he will continue to raise money for Republican House candidates in record numbers.

“Fundraiser extraordinaire,” is how Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist characterized McCarthy, “His goal should be to win 20 seats with Reagan Republicans so the [Republican Conference] can rule rather than a few self-promoters.”

Hinting not-so-subtly that McCarthy could work to bring down the eight Republicans who voted against him as speaker, Norquist noted that McCarthy “now has no requirement that he support destructive members.”

[McCarthy hinted at that himself after declining to put his name into the new speaker’s race in the GOP caucus. If he remains outside of leadership, he will still wield enormous influence thanks to his fundraising ties. It’s not just that he might give the Gaetz 8 the cold shoulder, either; they had better expect McCarthy to recruit challengers and get them the funds they need to compete. — Ed]