Speaker of the House of Representatives re-elected

John Boehner won a second two-year term as Speaker of the House of Representatives after facing dissent from his own Republican party tonight, leaving him weaker as he prepares for a fight with the White House over the US debt ceiling.

He received 220 votes, against 192 for the Democrat Nancy Pelosi, as the new batch of Congressmen and women took office.

Mr Boehner's victory comes after the "fiscal cliff" agreement, opposed by conservatives for not enough spending cuts. He now faces negotiations with the White House over raising the debt ceiling. The government has hit the limit, but can keep going until late February, when it runs out of money.