Kevin McCarthy was finally elected as speaker after 15 rounds of ballots.
Republican Kevin McCarthy was finally elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives following a grueling battle over several days to secure votes in exchange for significant concessions made to his former detractors.
McCarthy’s path to the speakership was delayed for several days as the midterm results meant the California representative needed to rely on the support of hard-line conservatives.
His task was made more difficult as Republicans hold 222 seats in the House, just 10 more than the Democrats.
McCarthy struggled through 15 ballots, the highest figure since the Civil War, and offered several concessions to secure the support of several of the holdout Republicans.
Republicans who persistently chose not to vote for McCarthy included Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, Eli Crane, Bob Good, Matt Rosendale and Andy Biggs.
Boebert (R-CO), who switched her vote to “present” to allow McCarthy to gain the speakership, was upbeat about the situation and pointed to the concessions the holdouts had won.
Boebert said in a January 7 release that: “House conservatives delivered a massive victory for the American people by fundamentally changing the way Congress will operate.
“We changed the way bills will be passed. We changed the way government will be funded.
