Kevin McCarthy elected speaker of the House, ending days of Republican chaos and division in Washington

Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the House early Saturday morning, ending the most chaotic selection of the House's leader in over a century.

That was easy? McCarthy joked after being given the speaker's gavel. It isn't how you start, it's how you finish, and now we need to finish strong for the American people, said my father.

McCarthy got the speaker's gavel in the early hours of the fifth day of voting. After a lot of hard work, his victory was secured. At the beginning of Friday, McCarthy and his allies were able to flip more than a dozen votes to his side, giving him a huge boost.

Final votes will be held until Friday evening. There were many Shakespearean scenes on the House floor.

Rep.-elect Mike Rogers of Alabama had to be held back as he appeared to lunge at Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz of Florida who refused to budge from voting present. House GOP leaders suddenly reversed and forced an immediate 15th vote.

—Josh Bergeron (@Joshpberg) January 7, 2023

McCarthy was eventually able to prevail.

This was never supposed to happen.

It's usually very easy to get a speaker. Prior to this week, the House had not needed a second ballot to get its leader. Since the end of the Civil War, the most votes have been consumed by McCarthy. Prior to the formal floor vote, previous Congresses havehed out their differences within their parties. The spirit of good feelings about retaking the majority can be felt by lawmakers in McCarthy's circumstances.

McCarthy had little time to make up for the disappointing midterms. Lawmakers have grown restless from being left out of major legislation talks. The holdouts just weren't that into McCarthy.

The celebrations may not last long.

McCarthy secured his position by agreeing to a rules package framework that will give power to conservative lawmakers who have demonstrated for days that they don't owe anything to the Californian. One of the concessions would allow any lawmaker to call for a no-confidence vote and oust McCarthy. The motion to vacate has only been voted on once in a century, but the introduction of it by Rep. MarkMeadows set off a chain of events that eventually resulted in the retirement of the Speaker.

The Pentagon would see a $75 billion cut in funding as a result of McCarthy agreeing to an agreement that would cap future government spending at a certain level. Any defense spending that is not approved by the Senate will likely cause ire of more establishment- leaning lawmakers. Multiple reports warned that the cuts could be shouldered by non-defense programs, but Democrats are not likely to agree to such cuts.

The debt ceiling will be raised later this year. If the US were to default on its debt, it would send domestic and international markets into a tail spin. The credit rating of the Obama administration was lowered because of the threat of breaching the debt ceiling.

McCarthy will soon learn that it's incredibly difficult to lead a narrowly-divided chamber. Many conservative priorities will be blocked by the Senate and White House. The speaker may have to rely on House Democrats to pass bills that Congress needs to act on. McCarthy could be deposed by a conservative revolt if a deal is cut across the aisle.