With Republicans poised to control the U.S. House by an ever-so-slim margin, Kevin McCarthy fended off a challenge to leadership when the GOP caucus overwhelmingly nominated him to be the next speaker.
Fox News and other outlets reported that the vote in the closed-door caucus meeting was 188 votes for McCarthy and 31 votes for Rep.
Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who announced an effort earlier on Tuesday. Still, given the expected narrow majority that the GOP will have in the House, McCarthy will have to find a way to secure at least 30 more votes to become the next speaker.
That vote will take place in January, when the new Congress is sworn in and seated. Republicans are close to securing the 218 votes to control the House as votes continued to be counted in California and other western states.
Read more on deadline.com