After days of negotiations and 15 roll call votes, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy became House speaker early Saturday morning after reportedly giving major concessions to a group of Republican holdouts increasing the influence of some of the chamber’s most conservative members.
McCarthy’s concessions include changes to how the House is run, placing members of the House Freedom Caucus on key committees, and the creation of a committee to conduct a major investigation into the FBI.
“I feel like the American people won. I feel that the House of Representatives will be a healthier institution,” Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who staunchly opposed McCarthy throughout the historic week, told the New York Post. “Many of these things had been resisted by Kevin McCarthy as early as Monday and now we have an exquisite rules package.”
