By Michael Dementjevs, Staff Writer

California Congressman Kevin McCarthy won a hotly contested battle for Speaker of the House of Representatives after quelling   

attempts to prevent him from winning the gavel. His win comes as Republicans take control with a narrow majority. 

After Republicans gained a narrow majority of 222 seats in the House of Representatives with Democrats winning 213 following the 2022 Midterm Elections, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was nominated by the House Republican Conference with Democrats nominating Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. to replace outgoing speaker Nancy Pelosi.

While Jefferies was unanimously nominated, McCarthy faced opposition from members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus with Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., challenging McCarthy for the nomination. Despite this challenge, McCarthy won the nomination.

The 118th Congress began on Jan. 3, and the first order was the election of a new speaker. On the first ballot, Democrats were united behind Jefferies, but 19 Republicans voted against McCarthy. Because no speaker was elected, members of the House had to vote on a second ballot for the first time since 1923.

On the second to 14th ballots, members of the House Freedom Caucus nominated other Republicans of the House such as Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and Republicans who are not a part of the House, most notably former president Donald Trump. McCarthy failed to win a majority with Jefferies winning support from all Democrats.

On the 12th ballot, McCarthy received Republican votes from those who had previously opposed him for the first time since the election began. However, he was still short of receiving a majority. 

The 14th ballot gave McCarthy exactly 50% of the votes, yet the other half supported Jordan, Donalds and Hern with Reps. Matt Gaetz. R-Fla. and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. voting present or abstention, lowering the threshold. This led to a heated exchange between McCarthy and Gaetz. 

Soon after, a motion to adjourn until Monday, was made. While adjournment seemed likely, many Republican, switched their vote from YES to NO — moving the election to a 15th ballot. This final ballot finally gave McCarthy the necessary majority needed to win the speakership due to his remaining opposition voting present.

“We will address America’s long-term challenges: the debt and the rise of the Chinese Communist Party,” McCarthy remarked in his inaugural speech as the 55th Speaker of the House.  

“I will work with anyone, everyone who shares our passion to deliver a better future for the nation,” he added. 

Democrats are concerned that chaos will reign.

“Well, our general concern is that the dysfunction that was historic that we saw this week is not at an end, it’s just the beginning,” Jeffries said.