Kevin McCarthy has been elected as the Speaker of the US House of Representatives after a dramatic and chaotic series of votes.
It took 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to win the position, despite his party having a majority in the chamber.
McCarthy’s confirmation came after a pressure campaign played out on the House floor, with party rebel Matt Gaetz almost coming to blows with another Republican representative.
McCarthy, who sets the House agenda and is second in line to the presidency after the vice-president, received support from former President Trump, who McCarthy said “was with me from the beginning” and “helped me get the final votes.”
The Speaker’s position was contested by Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the minority Democrats and the first black person ever to lead a party in Congress.
