Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as Speaker of the House on the 15th ballot. McCarthy was declared the winner at 12:37 a.m. on Saturday, January 7, with 216 votes. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries received 212 votes. McCarthy won when the winning threshold was lowered after six GOP holdouts from the House Freedom Caucus voted “present.”
McCarthy won the job he had long coveted after days of negotiations that included concessions to ultra-conservative members of his party.
After a failed motion to adjourn until Monday, McCarthy finally had the votes to secure the position, concluding the longest House Speaker vote in 146 years.
Following the vote, Jeffries took to the rostrum to praise outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He quoted the late Georgia congressman John Lewis while addressing his fellow House members.
“We believe, in America, our diversity is a strength, not a weakness. We are a gorgeous mosaic of people from throughout the world,” Jeffries said. “As John Lewis would sometimes remind us on this floor, we may have come over on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.”
Jeffries turned over the gavel his party has held for the past four years to McCarthy and the new Republican majority.
“That was easy, huh?” he joked. “I never thought we’d get up here.”
“My father always told me, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” McCarthy said in his first comments as House Speaker.
He promised to pursue the conservative agenda making border security a priority.
“One of our very first hearings will be held on the southern border. No more ignoring a crisis of safety, of sovereignty. We must secure our border. We must get America back on track,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy also gave a shout-out to his family, saying, “I am where I am because you are who you are.”
In his remarks, the House Speaker said, “I will work with anyone and everyone who shares our passion to deliver a better future for our nation. I hope you’ll join me. As a Congress, we can only operate if we can cooperate.”
President Joe Biden issued a statement congratulating McCarthy on his win.
In his statement, the president said:
“Jill and I congratulate Kevin McCarthy on his election as Speaker of the House. 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. Now that the leadership of the House of Representatives has been decided it is time for that process to begin.”
