Washington DC, 7/1: Republican favorite Kevin McCarthy was named speaker of the US House of Representatives on Saturday as he finally quelled a fierce rebellion among his party’s ranks that had paralyzed the lower chamber of Congress for days.
McCarthy was always the frontrunner to lead the Republican-led House, but his victory in the small hours of the morning was almost derailed by a right-wing revolt in his party that extended the contest to a historic 15 rounds of voting.
The speaker wields huge influence in Washington by presiding over House business and is second in line to the presidency, after the vice president.
McCarthy had been hoping to secure the gavel in the 14th round before midnight Friday but suffered a shock defeat amid astonishing scenes of Republican infighting as he came up short by just one vote out of more than 400 cast.
Comments are closed.