Republican Kevin McCarthy has been named the new House speaker, taking over from Nancy Pelosi.
It took 15 rounds of voting and multiple days for Republican Party members in the House to elect McCarthy, making it the longest speaker contest in 164 years.
The final tally was 216 votes for McCarthy, with 6 Republican members recording a vote of ‘present’ (a vote of abstention). Democrat Hakeem Jeffries received 212 votes.
Why was this important?
The House cannot begin proceedings until a speaker is elected.
The stalemate in selecting a new leader has meant the House has delayed key functions like forming committees or swearing in new members elected during last November’s midterm elections.
