GOP leader Kevin McCarthy becomes 55th Speaker after narrowly averted altercation between fellow Republicans

Meanwhile, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York had the support of all his 212 fellow Democrats behind him

PUBLISHED JAN 7, 2023

Kevin McCarthy, 57, sworn in as the 55th Speaker of the House.(@SpeakerMcCarthy/Twitter)

WASHINGTON DC: GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has finally managed to steer through 4 days of long chaotic confrontations and became the 55th speaker of the House in a late-night voting session. The Republican won over his far-right opponents during the 15th ballot, which was also the fifth-longest speaker vote in American history and the longest vote in 164 years of its kind. Things got rather tense in the House after McCarthy's camp assumed during the 14th straight ballot that they had the numbers, but staunch conservative opponents of McCarthy denied his win.

It was then that Republican Mike Rogers, R-Ala, the incoming chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee, charged at McCarthy critic, Republican Matt Gaetz, R-Fla, completely losing his temper as he started shouting. The situation could have gone out of hand if Republican Richard Hudson, R-NC, hadn't physically restrained Rogers at that moment. He pulled back on his shoulders and even had to put his hands over Rogers’s mouth to stop his outburst. "That was a very tense moment and I was just trying to play a role to keep the tensions down," said Hudson before leaving the floor. The pictures taken at the time also suggest that Republican Tim Burchett, R-Tenn, also tried to cool down the situation when the altercation between Gaetz and Rogers errupted.

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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. https://t.co/uLqPKa1maZ
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) January 7, 2023

“It’s just an unfortunate moment is all it was. It shouldn’t have happened. He shouldn’t have crossed that line. Nobody’s gonna put their hands on me, nobody’s going to threaten me. That’s it. Bottom line” reacted Burchett. McCarthy finally bagged 216 votes, with support from all six of his remaining GOP detractors agreeing to vote present, reported NBC News. Meanwhile, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York had the support of all his 212 fellow Democrats behind him. The 57-year-old Republican got a resounding standing ovation as the House burst into the chant, "USA! USA!"

He remembered his father’s wise words, who served as a firefighter, while addressing the House, “You know — my father always told me: It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. And now we need to finish strong for the American people." McCarthy also acknowledged the support he got from former president Trump, "I do want to especially thank President Trump. I don’t think anybody should doubt his influence. He was with me from the beginning. ... He was all in."