New Congress live updates: What's next after Kevin McCarthy's speakership win
McCarthy finally won the speaker's gavel after historic 15 rounds of voting.
The House Republican leadership standoff ended early Saturday morning with Kevin McCarthy winning the speaker's gavel on a historic 15th vote.
It was the longest such election since 1859.
The drama stretched into a fourth day Friday with three more failed votes to decide on a speaker after 11 others over Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday -- the last one ending in a heated one-vote loss at the hands of holdout Matt Gaetz.
McCarthy had been stymied by a small group of hardliners demanding concessions to reshape how the House is run and legislation it prioritizes.
Latest headlines:
Lauren Boebert nominates Kevin Hern
Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert nominated her colleague from Oklahoma, Rep. Kevin Hern, for speaker.
Speaking to her GOP colleagues, Boebert said "it's time to build momentum" around a different candidate.
"Many of you have said it. You see that Kevin McCarthy does not have the votes," she said.
Boebert and Oklahoma's new Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen voted for Hern in the previous round. Hern was first elected to the House in 2018 and has served on the House Ways and Means Committee. He currently chairs the Republican Study Committee.
Matt Rosendale nominates Byron Donalds in ninth round of voting
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., nominated Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., for speaker in the ninth round of voting, focusing much of his frustrations over a lack of debate on legislation -- a deficiency that he accused McCarthy of preparing to continue.
"These are not radical deviations from the norm. These are restorations of the rules so that this place can function properly," he said of the demands put forth by a group of 20 renegades to GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, Calif.
"Hoping for this change will not create this change. And change is uncomfortable. We understand that. But it is not unachievable. And we must make change in this broken system."
Ted Lieu nominates Hakeem Jeffries
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., rose to nominate Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for speaker in this ninth round of voting.
Jeffries has led in the eight votes conducted so far, thanks to the unanimous support of the Democratic caucus.
"Democrats are ready, willing and able to get to work for the American people," Lieu said. "We will do so under leadership of Hakeem Jeffries who has a plan for the American people."
Troy Nehls nominates McCarthy in 9th round of voting
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, a member of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus that partially opposes McCarthy, nominated the House GOP leader, arguing that McCarthy had adequately "addressed" the issues of his critics.
"I believe the 20 members who have nominated an alternate candidate have expressed their concerns with leadership, and those concerns have been addressed by Leader McCarthy and this conference. I believe this battle we are raging must end," he said.
Nehls specifically said McCarthy's concession on lowering the threshold of support needed to trigger a vote on removing a speaker was enough to ensure that he would be held accountable to his dissenters.
"This motion allows us, the Republican conference, to hold the speaker accountable. The American people gave us, my friends, us, the Republicans, the majority, and their vote of confidence to change the direction of the country," he said.