Kevin McCarthy elected US House speaker after marathon 15 votes
- The Republican won on a margin of 216-211 after making concessions to some right-wing hardliners
- McCarthy’s victory brought an end to the deepest congressional dysfunction in 160 years, but raised questions about his party’s ability to govern
Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the US House of Representatives early on Saturday, after making extensive concessions to a group of right-wing hardliners that raised questions about the party’s ability to govern.
The 57-year-old Californian suffered one final humiliation when Representative Matt Gaetz withheld his vote on the 14th ballot as the Republican dispute escalated to shouting and physical confrontations.
After McCarthy was blocked on the 14th ballot, he walked quickly to the back of the House chamber and confronted Gaetz. As McCarthy was walking back, appearing flustered, one of his allies, Mike Rogers stormed over to Gaetz and lunged at him. Rogers was restrained by Representative Richard Hudson as a stunned House watched it unfold.
McCarthy’s victory in the 15th ballot brought an end to the deepest congressional dysfunction in 160 years. But it sharply illustrated the difficulties that he will face in leading a narrow and deeply polarised majority.
He won at last on a margin of 216-211. He was able to be elected with the votes of fewer than half the House members only because five in his own party withheld their votes – not backing McCarthy as leader, but also not voting for another contender.
“I’m glad that it’s over,” McCarthy told reporters soon after the vote.
“Our system is built on checks and balances. It’s time for us to be a check and provide some balance to the president’s policies,” he said in his inaugural speech, which laid out a wide range of priorities from cutting spending to immigration and fighting culture war battles.