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.

ByLibby Cathey, Alexandra Hutzler, Tal Axelrod, and Benjamin Siegel
Last Updated: January 9, 2023, 8:14 AM EST

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:

Here's how the story is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 03, 2023, 3:27 PM EST

McCarthy loses 2nd ballot as 19 Republicans vote for Jordan

Kevin McCarthy has fallen short of the votes needed to win House speaker for a second time.

Once again, 19 Republicans voted against McCarthy -- this time unanimously backing Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Jordan had urged his colleagues to back McCarthy as he nominated the California congressman for speaker. But Rep. Matt Gaetz stood up to nominate Jordan, calling him the "most talented, hardest working member of the Republican conference."

The House vote was identical to the first round: McCarthy again won 203 votes compared to Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries' 212 votes.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy listens as Representatives cast their votes for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington
Win Mcnamee/Getty Images
Jan 03, 2023, 2:45 PM EST

Jordan wins enough votes to deny McCarthy speakership in 2nd vote

Enough Republicans have already voted for Jordan to deny McCarthy the speakership in a second ballot.

Just after Jordan rose to renominate McCarthy before the start of the second round of voting, nine Republicans backed the Ohioan before vote counting even got halfway through the alphabet.

Jordan was able to flip a number of Republicans who opposed McCarthy on the first ballot but didn't vote for him, including Biggs, who voted for himself during the initial round of voting.

PHOTO: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) shakes hands with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as Representatives cast their votes for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 118th Congress in the Capitol Building on Jan. 03, 2023 in Washington, DC.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) shakes hands with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as Representatives cast their votes for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 03, 2023 in Washington, DC. Today members of the 118th Congress will be sworn-in and the House of Representatives will elect a new Speaker of the House.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Jan 03, 2023, 2:31 PM EST

Gaetz nominates Jordan after Jordan urges colleagues to back McCarthy

After Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio took to the floor to encourage Republicans to back Rep. Kevin McCarthy for speaker, Rep. Matt Gaetz got up to nominate Jordan for the position.

"I rise to nominate the most talented, hardest working member of the Republican conference, who just gave a speech with more vision than we have ever heard from the alternative," the Florida congressman said.

"Jim Jordan is humble. Perhaps today, humble to a fault," Gaetz continued. "Maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the House isn't someone who wants it so bad. Maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the House isn't someone who has sold shares of themselves for more than a decade to get it."

In the first round of voting, Jordan received six votes.

Jan 03, 2023, 2:28 PM EST

Jim Jordan nominates McCarthy in 2nd round of voting

After receiving six votes of his own on the first ballot, Rep. Jim Jordan nominated Kevin McCarthy in the second round of voting for House speaker.

"I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House," Jordan said, prompting applause from several Republican members.

"We need to rally around him, come together, and deal with these three things, because this is what the people sent us here to do," he added, ticking through Republican priorities in the new Congress.

Rep. Jim Jordan talks with Rep. Kevin McCarthy after the first round of voting for House Speaker during opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Jan 3, 2023, in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/AP

"We owe it to them, the American people, the good people of this great country, to step forward to come together, get a speaker elected so we can address these three things. I hope you'll vote for Kevin McCarthy and that's why I'm proud to nominate him for speaker of the House," Jordan said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Bob Good, one of the original "Never Kevin" members, said off the House floor that he plans to vote for Jordan on the second ballot despite Jordan's call to support McCarthy -- and expects other detractors will follow.

-ABC News' Will Steakin

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola