House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy clinched the speakership shortly after midnight on Saturday, resolving a historic stalemate that embarrassed and frustrated the GOP this week.
Why it matters: The California Republican’s hard-won ascendancy follows a feud that saw a group of far-right conservatives repeatedly defy him — and could preview a new era of divided government.
GOP rebels Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Bob Good (R-Va.), Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Rep.-elect Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) voted “present” on the 15th ballot.
Former President Trump gave McCarthy a last-minute boost by calling both Gaetz and Biggs tonight and telling them the speakership needed to be resolved, a source familiar with the calls tells Axios.
The big picture: McCarthy reached an agreement with more than a dozen GOP detractors that allows them to wield more power in the new Congress after weeks of tense negotiations.
The deadlock during five days of voting highlighted internal strife over the direction of the party as it was set to take control of the House with a fragile majority.
The breakthrough came after 15 rounds of voting.
McCarthy’s rocky road to victory made history as the longest battle for the gavel of the post-Civil War era — and marked the first time in a century that it has taken the House more than one ballot to elect a speaker. (Axios)