McCarthy withdraws candidacy for House speaker; Amodei reacts

WASHINGTON — With no warning, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew Thursday from the contest for speaker of the U.S. House, shocking fellow Republicans just before voting was to begin and plunging Congress into chaos. Lawmakers said they were thunderstruck and in disbelief following McCarthy’s announcement, which came moments after they had shown up for an election nearly certain to end with McCarthy as their pick. A mere two weeks ago outgoing Speaker John Boehner announced his p