Kevin McCarthy elected US House speaker on 15th vote

On January 7th, Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected as the speaker of the US House of Representatives after a series of negotiations and votes.

The final vote, which took place on the 15th round of balloting, saw McCarthy secure a majority of 216 votes, while all 212 Democrats voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

This marked the longest contest for the speaker's position in 164 years and the longest period that the Chamber had remained leaderless in a century.