House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is keeping his friends close, and his caucus closer.

At least, that appears to be the intent behind what the California Republican is calling his "Five Families" strategy—a not-so-subtle reference to the classic 1972 film "The Godfather." In the hopes of avoiding the infighting that preceded his raucous Speakership vote, McCarthy is giving five different ideological factions within the House Republican caucus a much larger say in the legislation that makes it to the chamber's floor.

On this episode of our weekly podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Government's Emily Wilkins explains what McCarthy is doing and how his strategy represents a break with his predecessor, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Emily also talks about whether this power sharing agreement will make it more or less likely that Congress will breach the debt ceiling later this year.

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