Newly elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy celebrates after being annointed on the 15th round of voting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2023.

Kevin McCarthy was named as the new speaker of the US House of Representatives on Saturday, ending days of bitter Republican infighting that ground the lower chamber of Congress to a standstill.

The 57-year-old Californian needed a simple majority to be elected as Washington's top legislator, who presides over House business and is second in line to the presidency.

The U.S. House of Representatives elected GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of California as speaker in a dramatic 15th vote early Saturday, after a contentious four days and 14 failed ballots — the longest the chamber has gone leaderless in a century.

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In a tense showdown on the House floor in the middle of the 14th failed vote at around 11 p.m. ET Friday, McCarthy personally confronted GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.

Despite making numerous concessions to win support from them and other far right Republicans over the course of the week, they still refused to support McCarthy outright.

They, instead, joined four other Republicans in the 15th and final vote by voting "present," which helped him clinch the gavel by reducing the number of votes he needed to get to a majority. He won with 216 out of 428 possi... Read More