Sat Jan 7, 2023 – 5:57 pm ESTSat Jan 7, 2023 – 7:26 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) – Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California was elected U.S. House speaker early Saturday morning on the 15th ballot after five days of negotiations.
McCarthy clinched the speakership in a late-night vote Saturday, winning 216 votes to Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’ 212 after losing 14 previous rounds of voting.
Every House speaker since 1923 had won election on the first ballot.
Six staunchly anti-McCarthy Republicans, including Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona, voted “present,” which lowered the threshold for a candidate to win.
McCarthy, a longtime member of House Republican leadership, is unpopular with the party’s conservative base due to his weakness on same-sex “marriage,” ties to Big Tech and the World Economic Forum, and support of military aid for Ukraine.
As House Minority Leader, McCarthy notably gave Republican congressmen permission last summer to vote for the “Respect for Marriage Act,” Democrats’ bill to codify same-sex “marriage.”
His blessing turned into a catastrophe for social conservatives: The bill ultimately passed the House with an unexpectedly large number of Republican votes, prompting Democrats to take it up
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