Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected as the speaker of the US House of Representatives on Saturday after five days of chaotic voting. But his elevation comes after conceding major concessions to an ultraconservative bloc of the party.
The 57-year-old representative from California suffered one final humiliation when Representative Matt Gaetz withheld his vote on the 14th ballot as midnight approached, prompting a scuffle in which fellow Republican Mike Rogers had to be physically pulled away.
