Mc Carthy, members of the House sworn into office

Republican Kevin McCarthy has been sworn in as Speaker of the House following a historic post-midnight election on a 15th ballot, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and a week of chaos.

After four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to become supporters, including the chairman of the chamber's Freedom Caucus. The California Republican took the oath of office shortly after 1:30am eastern time and then was finally able to swear in newly elected lawmakers who had been waiting all week for the chamber to formally open and the 2023-24 session to begin.