Kevin McCarthy’s difficult road to becoming House speaker ended early Saturday morning after Republicans appeared to have miscounted the number of votes they needed and left him one vote short of winning the gavel, then quickly voted one last time to give him the win – with help from some of his biggest detractors.
The 15th and final vote for House speaker gave McCarthy 216 votes, a bare majority that was lower than the normal 218 votes needed because all six of his remaining GOP opponents relented and voted “present.” Reps.-elect Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Elijah Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia and Matt Rosendale of Montana voted “present” in the final round.
In the end, no Republican voted against McCarthy, which was the closest thing to GOP unity seen all week.