January 07, (THEWILL) – The US House of Representatives has elected GOP leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, as speaker, in a dramatic 15th vote, early Saturday, after a contentious four days and 14 failed ballots.
With 222 Republicans in the House, McCarthy was elected Speaker with 216 out of 428 possible votes.
All 212 Democrats have unanimously backed House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, for each vote, except the 12th vote, in which one member was out for a minor surgery.
Support for McCarthy dwindled over the first three days of voting from 203 votes on Tuesday, to 200 by the 11th vote on Thursday, falling far short of the number needed to win the speakership. He needed support from more than half of the lawmakers who cast their ballots.
In a tense showdown on the House floor in the middle of the 14th failed vote on Friday, McCarthy personally confronted GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
Despite making numerous concessions to win support from them and other far right Republicans over the course of the week, they still refused to support McCarthy outright.
They, instead, joined four other Republicans in the 15th and final vote by voting “present,” which helped him clinch the gavel by reducing the number of votes he needed to get to a majority.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden congratulated McCarthy on his election as House Speaker in a statement issued shortly after he emerged Speaker.
“Jill and I congratulate Kevin McCarthy on his election as Speaker of the House.
“I am prepared to work with Republicans when I can and voters made clear that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well”, Biden said.
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