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After days of acrimonious Republican infighting that brought the lower house of Congress to a standstill, Kevin McCarthy was named the new speaker of the US House of Representatives on Saturday.
The 57-year-old Californian, who is second in line to the presidency, need a simple majority to be chosen as Washington’s top lawmaker, to preside over House proceedings.
But since Republicans were so profoundly split, it took 15 rounds of voting over four days to quell an anti-McCarthy uprising, making it the longest speakership election in 160 years.