Republican Kevin McCarthy has been elected as the new US Speaker after winning the 15th vote as tensions boiled over in Congress.
Mr. McCarthy’s party had taken control of the House, the US lower chamber, following the midterm elections in the autumn, with a slim 222-212 majority.
After days of chaos, McCarthy has been finally selected as the US House speaker.
Usually, election of the Speaker follows seamlessly, as a formality, with the leader of the largest party a shoo-in for the job.
However, recent splits in the Republican Party meant that did not happen until the 15th round of voting.
In the 14th ballot, Mr. McCarthy received 216 votes, one shy of the number needed for a victory, as a small fraction of right-wing hardliners held out. He finally won on a margin of 216-211.
He was elected with the votes of fewer than half the House members only because five in his own party withheld their votes – not backing Mr. McCarthy as leader, but also not voting for another contender.
