McCarthy elected House speaker in rowdy post-midnight vote

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican Kevin McCarthy has been elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks. Floor tensions boiled over into shouting after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority’s ability to govern.

But McCarthy prevailed in the end as he had said he would. “Now the hard work begins,” he declared as supporters cheered. During four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to supporters.

Then a few of the remaining holdouts switched to merely vote “present,” dropping the tally McCarthy needed to win. Members were finally sworn into office.