Washington, Nov 16 (PTI) On the cusp of touching the magic number of 218 that would give the Republicans a majority in the House of Representatives, party lawmakers elected Congressman Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday for the powerful post of speaker in the next Congress beginning January.
McCarthy, who is currently the House Minority Leader, would have to win a majority of the 435 members of the House next year before being formally elected as its speaker. The House speaker is the second in line of political succession after the president and the vice president.
As of Tuesday night, Republicans had either won or taken decisive leads in 217 Congressional districts against 206 won by the Democratic Party. Tuesday afternoon, House Republicans voted 188-31 to formally nominate McCarthy to serve as the speaker in the next Congress. He defeated Congressman Andy Biggs, former House Freedom Caucus chairman.
