Kevin Mc Carthy Elected House Speaker After Turbulent Voting
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Republican Kevin McCarthy of California won the election early Saturday as the U.S. House of Representatives speaker in a historic five-day battle after making concessions to legislators who questioned his conservative credentials.
McCarthy, 57, withstood a surprise defeat on the 14th ballot late Friday and was finally elected speaker with the slimmest majority, just 216 votes, early Saturday morning.
It came after a dramatic pressure campaign played live on the House floor as party rebel Matt Gaetz was urged to vote for McCarthy. The Florida Congressman was among six holdouts who relented late on Friday.
It came after perhaps the most heated scenes since in the chamber as Gaetz had almost come to blows with Representative Mike Rogers – a supporter of McCarthy.
The Alabama congressman had to be physically restrained by colleagues as he bellowed and jabbed his finger at Gaetz.
Speaking after his troubled confirmation, McCarthy wrote on the social networking site Twitter: “I hope one thing is clear after this week: I will never give up. And I will never give up on you, the American people.”
His fate was decided just hours after decided the second anniversary of perhaps the most challenging day of his career, observers said.
RIOT ANNIVERSARY
On January 6, rioters claiming to be supporters of then U.S. President Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol in a deadly confrontation. Then minority leader McCarthy engaged in an angry obscenities-laden phone call with Trump during the riots, according to sources familiar with the call.
McCarthy was back in the same halls of Congress ransacked by the mob after numerous unsuccessful voting rounds.
He won the House speakership after making concessions to critical legislators who, till the last moment, questioned his commitment to conservative values in a deeply polarized Congress.
It also underscored deep divisions within the Republican Party in the aftermath of a turbulent Trump presidency.
Yet U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, congratulated McCarthy for his win and said he looked forward to cooperating with the Republican Party. “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.
However, Republicans have already pledged to launch investigations into Biden’s controversial family business dealings and what they view as his troubled administration.
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