Kevin McCarthy is elected as speaker of the US House of Representatives after 15 rounds of voting

The Hill, BBC and CNN reported on Kevin McCarthy's election as Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

"Out of 428 votes cast, McCarthy got 216, and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries got 212," BBC correspondent noted.

House Clerk Cheryl Johnson announced, "Therefore, the Honourable Kevin McCarthy, by a majority of the votes cast, is duly elected Speaker of the House."

The Speaker of the House of Representatives could not be elected for four days in a row: for the first time since the 19th century.

BBC reports that Republicans eventually agreed to hand over speakership to Kevin McCarthy, but House Democrats accuse him of handing over power to the extremist wing of his party.

Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan Boyle said the deadlocked vote showed "a completely dysfunctional House of Representatives majority."

At the same time, another historic event took place: Hakeem Jeffries made history as the first black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress.

The New York congressman will lead Democrats in the House of Representatives, succeeding Nancy Pelosi, who was speaker in the previous session of Congress.

• On November 30, 2022, Democrats in the US House of Representatives elected a new leader - Hakeem Jeffries succeeded Nancy Pelosi.

• On January 3, 2023, for the first time in 100 years, the US House of Representatives failed to elect a speaker on the first ballot. Kevin McCarthy was supported by 203 members of the House of Representatives, 19 Republicans voted for other candidates. To obtain the position of speaker, he needed to receive votes of the majority of those present and participating in the vote (usually 218 people).