Kevin McCarthy has been elected Speaker of the US House of
Representatives after heated exchanges which almost saw fellow Republicans come
to blows.
It took 15 rounds of voting for Mr McCarthy to win the job,
despite his party having a majority in the chamber.
It came after a dramatic pressure campaign played out live
on the House floor as party rebel Matt Gaetz was urged to vote for Mr McCarthy.
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The Florida Congressman was among six holdouts who relented
late on Friday.
Earlier, amid heated scenes in the chamber, Mr Gaetz had
almost come to blows with Rep Mike Rogers - a supporter of Mr McCarthy. The
Alabama congressman had to be physically restrained by colleagues as he
bellowed and jabbed his finger at Mr Gaetz.
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The Speaker sets the House agenda and oversees legislative
business. The post is second in line to the presidency after the US
vice-president.
Speaking after his confirmation, Mr McCarthy wrote on
Twitter: "I hope one thing is clear after this week: I will never give up.
And I will never give up for you, the American people."
Mr McCarthy told reporters that former President Trump had
helped him get the final votes: "I don't think anybody should doubt his
influence".
"He was with me from the beginning... he would call me
and he would call others," he said.
US President Joe Biden congratulated Mr McCarthy for his win
and said he looked forward to co-operating with the Republican Party.
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"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," he said.
Republicans have already pledged to launch investigations
into Mr Biden's family business dealings and administration.
In a remarkable turnaround in the 12th round of voting, Mr
McCarthy was able to persuade 14 Republican holdouts to cast their vote for
him. A 15th rebel followed suit for the 13th ballot.
After the 13th ballot was adjourned, Mr McCarthy insisted to
reporters that he would "have the votes" to take the speakership on
the next round.
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But the California congressman was still three votes short
of the 217 he needed to take the prized gavel, and in chaotic and dramatic
scenes, he again failed to win on the 14th ballot.
The dissidents included members of the House Freedom Caucus,
who argue that Mr McCarthy is not conservative enough to lead them as they work
to try to oppose Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda.
Mr McCarthy has offered various concessions to the rebels,
including a seat on the influential rules committee, which sets the terms for
debate on legislation in the chamber.
He also agreed to lower the threshold for triggering a vote
on whether to unseat the Speaker, to only one House member, leading to the
possibility that the Republican coalition could easily fracture again even
after Mr McCarthy's victory.
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As the last politician on the roll - Montana's Ryan Zinke -
voted, the House floor erupted in applause as it became clear Mr McCarthy had
finally emerged victorious.
Mr McCarthy hugged other representatives and signed
autographs, but across the room the Democrats' side was completely silent. No
democrat applauded.
Senior Democratic Party lawmakers accused Mr McCarthy of
ceding power to an extreme wing of his party and likened the stand-off to the
riot exactly two years ago on Capitol Hill by Trump supporters who disrupted Mr
Biden's certification as president.
"Two years ago insurrectionists failed to take over the Capitol," Congressman Eric Swalwell wrote on Twitter. "Tonight Kevin McCarthy let them take over the Republican Party."
And Virginia Congressman Don Beyer referred to the angry
scenes among Republicans that followed the 14th count.
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"Unsettling that this process ends in threats of
violence in the House Chamber, on this of all days," he said. "Maybe
it didn't determine the outcome, but that is no way to conduct the people's
business. A dark and sobering moment will probably be remembered long after
this session ends."
The minority Democrats had continued to vote in unison for
their leader, New York's Hakeem Jeffries, the first black person ever to lead a
party in Congress.
Friday was the first day that Mr McCarthy's vote count
actually surpassed that of Mr Jeffries.
Mr McCarthy opened his acceptance speech joking; "that
was easy, eh?". He outlined a range of Republican policy objectives that
included lowering prices, securing the US-Mexico border and combatting what he
described as a "woke indoctrination".
He said one of his primary goals was to stop "wasteful
Washington spending".
The lawmakers began leaving the Congress around 02:00 local
time (07:00 GMT) on Saturday morning - 14 hours after the gavel first rang at
noon.
Not since 1860 in the build-up to the American Civil War has
the lower chamber of Congress voted this many times to pick a speaker. Back
then it took 44 rounds of ballots.
In November's midterm elections, Republicans won the House
by a weaker-than-expected margin of 222 to 212. Democrats retained control of
the Senate.
By Bernd Debusmann on Capitol Hill and Matt Murphy in London
|| BBCNEWS
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