McCarthy elected House speaker in rowdy post-midnight vote

Incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., holds the gavel on the House floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, early Saturday, January 7, 2023. [AP Photo]

Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early Saturday, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and floor tensions that boiled over after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority's ability to govern.

"My father always told me, it's not how you start, it's how you finish," McCarthy told cheering fellow Republicans.