House speaker vote: McCarthy thanks Trump for final votes as fight nearly breaks out on floor
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Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the House of Representatives after 15 rounds of voting, clinching the gavel just after midnight on Saturday.
The longest contest for speaker of the House of Representatives in more than a century finally came to an end as six remaining Republican holdouts opted to vote “present”, giving Mr McCarthy a majority over Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.
Earlier, Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Matt Gaetz amid chaotic scenes in the House.
Congressman Richard Hudson grabbed Mr Rogers by his face and physically pulled him away.
In his first speech as speaker, Mr McCarthy thanked former president Donald Trump for “helping get those final votes”.
Mr McCarthy’s bid had been delayed by a group of far-right Republicans including the likes of Lauren Boebert and Mr Gaetz.
However, on Friday he made significant progress in the 12th ballot, managing to flip a total of 14 representatives-elect in his favour after lengthy negotiations.
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C-SPAN lauded for House speaker vote coverage
C-SPAN has been lauded for providing an unfiltered, transparent live feed of all the action on the floor of the House of Representatives as Republicans finally chose Kevin McCarthy as the House speaker after 15 rounds of vote.
Audiences have been treated to a fascinating insight into how Congress functions – or dysfunctions, as the case may be.
There have been hours of footage of huddling lawmakers, animated negotiations, and unexpected pairings of people with well-known quarrels.
Usually, congressional rules dictate what cameras can and cannot show in the Capitol, but with no representatives sworn in there are no such rules, leaving C-SPAN camera operators seemingly free to capture all the frustrations, laughter, and intensity of four days of voting.
Needless to say the C-SPAN team — and the still photographers present — have won the praise of political junkies across the nation for putting us all ringside.
Howard Mortman, the network’s communications director, shared some pictures of a few members of the team that brought those images to the world.
Others offered their own praise.
C-SPAN’s co-CEO Susan Swain noted that while their coverage is getting kudos, the non-profit network “doesn’t get a dime” of government funding.
“Sadly, we’re not available to all pay TV customers, importantly YouTube and Hulu,” she tweeted, adding the request: “Please help convince them to add C-SPAN to their lineups by liking and retweeting.”
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Exclusive: AOC says GOP chaos shows how reasonable progressives are
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Read more on what she had to say:
AOC says Republican chaos shows how reasonable progressives like the Squad are
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Kevin McCarthy elected House speaker on 15th round after fight nearly breaks out
Kevin McCarthy was finally elected as House speaker amid chaotic scenes, with the 15th and final vote stretching past midnight on Friday.
The Independent’s Eric Garcia and Alex Woodward have the story.
Kevin McCarthy elected House speaker on 15th round after fight nearly breaks out
Lawmakers nearly came to blows as historic streak of voting neared dramatic conclusion
Kevin McCarthy thanks Trump for ‘helping get those final votes’
New House speaker Kevin McCarthy credited the former president’s 11th hour lobbying with helping him secure the gavel in a speech delivered in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Namita Singh has more.
Kevin McCarthy thanks Trump for ‘helping get those final votes’
McCarthy had earlier blamed Trump for encouraging his supporters to attack the US Capitol two years ago
‘King of the ashes'
MSNBC political commentator Elie Mystal said Kevin McCarthy would let the House burn if he could become “king of the ashes”.
Speaking on Chris Hayes’ show on Friday night, Mr Mystal compared the GOP House leader to the treacherous Game of Thrones character Littlefinger.
“Littlefinger McCarthy has showed that he was willing to let Congress burn to be king of the ashes,” he stated.
“And now we have for the next two years are those ashes that we have to sift through and see if we can find any functioning government amongst the ruin that McCarthy has wrecked with his own, sweaty, desperate ambition.”
Watch: Key moments from a chaotic House Speaker election
Trump phone-ins, near-fights and 15 votes, here are the key moments from a chaotic House speaker election.
Confrontations and near-fights: Key moments from a chaotic House Speaker election
From confrontations and anger to lawmakers being restrained, here are the highlights from the night a new US House Speaker was elected. Kevin McCarthy was voted as House of Representatives speaker last night after 15 rounds of voting in four days. The night saw Mr McCarthy confront Matt Gaetz for withholding his vote in the 14th round before he later changed his mind in a dramatic turn of events - solidifying him as Nancy Pelosi’s successor. Rep Richard Hudson was filmed restraining Alabama’s Mike Rogers when he confronted Gaetz. The role is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the vice president, marking the position as one of the most powerful jobs in US politics. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Champagne popping in Speaker McCarthy’s office
Kevin McCarthy celebrated his belated election as House speaker in the early hours of Saturday morning with champagne.
Politico reporter Olivia Beavers snapped video of dozens of bottles of Gloria Ferrer bubbly being wheeled into the speaker’s office.
Earlier in the week, boxes of Washington DC favourite Wiseguy Pizza were seen being brought in as negotiations continued late into the night.
Shock scenes as Republican held back in confrontation with Matt Gaetz
A near-brawl broke out between Republicans on the House floor late on Friday night as four days of frustration at Matt Gaetz’s refusal to back Kevin McCarthy’s teetering bid for Speaker boiled over.
Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Mr Gaetz amid chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill.
Full story below.
Republican held back in confrontation with Matt Gaetz during Speaker votes
Chaos reigned during the final House speaker vote on Friday night, as Rep Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after apparently lunging towards holdout Matt Gaetz
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