Representative Nancy Pelosi had been given a “hideaway” office suite as a courtesy — one that was rescinded after she did nothing to help Representative Kevin McCarthy.
Congress has long been an institution that runs on seniority and rewards longevity, and these veteran lawmakers are still running the country at an age when most people are well into retirement.
A fight between Virginia and Maryland lawmakers over a new location for the F.B.I. headquarters held up a 4,155 page must-pass government funding measure.
The decision by the Maryland Democrat, who has served in Congress for four decades — two of them in leadership — reflected a generational and demographic shift afoot in his party.
Representatives Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California were widely expected to seek the top three slots.