5 concessions Kevin McCarthy made to become speaker of the House

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, January 12, 2023

The United States House of Representatives elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker after he and House leadership vowed to consider proposals made by the body’s most conservative members. 

McCarthy, who has served as House Minority Leader for the past four years, was elected speaker of the House in a late-night vote early Saturday morning. McCarthy’s election as speaker came on the 15th ballot, making this year’s election for speaker of the House one of the longest in U.S. history. McCarthy replaces longtime Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as speaker. Pelosi stepped down from her leadership post after Democrats narrowly lost control of the House in last year’s midterm elections.

McCarthy secured the votes to become speaker after 14 of the 19 holdouts who voted against him on the first ballot supported him after he agreed to a rules package that advanced many of their preferred policy goals and made other concessions. The remaining six holdouts voted “present” on the 15th ballot, lowering the number of votes McCarthy needed to become Speaker. 

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On the 15th ballot, McCarthy received 216 votes in the final vote for speaker while Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the House minority leader, secured unanimous support among the 212 House Democrats.

Here are five concessions McCarthy made to ensure the votes necessary to become speaker.