Californian Republican Kevin McCarthy is the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives. He was elected to the post after a historic 15th round after being opposed by right-wing hardliners within his own party.
McCarthy managed to get enough votes of the hardliners after agreeing to a number of concessions, including to allow any single member to call for a vote to remove him from office at any time besides setting a cap on discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels.
In the final tally, McCarthy got 216 votes against the 212 for Democrats' Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
House clerk Cheryl Johnson says: "Therefore, the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, having received a majority of votes cast, is duly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives."
US President Joe Biden extended congratulations to the new Speaker, saying he was ready to work with the Republicans.
"The American people expect their leaders to govern in a way that puts their needs above all else, and that is what we need to do now," Biden said in a statement. "As I said after the midterms, I am prepared to work with Republicans when I can and voters made clear that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well."
Florida's Matt Gaetz who had led the strong opposition to McCarthy finally gave in as he voted present. Virginia's Bob Good too voted present, resulting in a sound victory for McCarthy
California's McCarthy, who cut a confident figure as he strode into the chamber, was able to sway 14 from the band of far-right Republicans, who had been unwavering in their staunch opposition to his candidacy, right from the first ballot on Tuesday. However, he fell short by 5 votes. Republicans hold 222 seats in the 435-member House, and he needs 218 to win the election and McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes. Seven members voted for other Republican candidates.
House Democrats who have been unhappy, have accused McCarthy of giving too much power to "extremists" of the party. Democrats worried that the concessions McCarthy agreed to could lead to sharp cuts to popular social programs.
"This is bad," said Democratic Representative Lori Trahan. "Kevin McCarthy sold out Medicare and Social Security recipients to pick up speaker votes from right-wing Republicans."
Moderate Republican Brian Fitzpatrick said he was not worried that the House would effectively be run by hardliners.
"It's aspirational," he told reporters. "We still have our voting cards."
Republicans' weaker-than-expected performance in November's midterm elections left them with a narrow 222-212 majority, which has given outsized power to the right-wing hardliners who have opposed McCarthy's leadership.
McCarthy's belated victory came on the two-year anniversary of a Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, when a violent mob stormed Congress in an attempt to overturn then-President Donald Trump's election loss.
This week's 14 failed votes marked the highest number of ballots for the speakership since 1859, in the turbulent years before the Civil war.
(With agencies inputs)
(Edited by : Pradeep John)
First Published: Jan 7, 2023 12:03 AM IST
