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By Darragh Roche
US News Reporter
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Newly elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has responded to his victory in the House of Representatives after four days of opposition from a minority within his own party.
McCarthy took to Twitter early on Saturday morning and shared a video of the speech he delivered to the House after he was elected speaker on the 15th ballot on Friday.
"I hope one thing is clear after this week: I will never give up. And I will never give up for you, the American people," McCarthy tweeted.
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The final vote saw McCarthy win support from 216 Republicans in the House, while all 212 Democrats voted for Representative Hakeem Jeffries and six Republicans voted "present."
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Voting "present" lowers the threshold needed for a majority and by not voting for an alternative candidate, McCarthy's opponents cleared the way for him to become speaker in the 118th Congress.
"That was easy, huh?" McCarthy joked when he spoke from the rostrum following his victory, eliciting some laughs in the chamber.
No speaker had failed to secure election on the first ballot since 1923 and this year's election for speaker has been the longest since 1859, when 44 ballots were needed.
"Hakeem, I gotta warn ya. Two years ago, I got 100 percent of the vote from my conference," McCarthy joked, making reference to Representative Jeffries, who is now the new House Minority Leader.
"My father always told me, it's not how you start, it's how you finish," the new speaker said, adding: "Now, the hard work begins."
McCarthy was sworn in as speaker following his remarks to the House and now that a speaker has been elected, the House can begin to function fully. That includes the full operation of committees, which will be able to pay staff and process legislation.
House Republicans will also be able to begin a series of promised investigations into matters including President Joe Biden's administration, the U.S.-China relationship and the handling of the COVID pandemic.
Biden, who is expected to be the focus of investigations, congratulated McCarthy on his election.
"The American people expect their leaders to govern in a way that puts their needs above all else, and that is what we need to do now," the president said.
The House will still need to pass a rules package to govern its proceedings in the new congress but now that a speaker has been elected, members will take up that task. The GOP rules package was released in advance of the initial ballots for speaker this week.
Newsweek has asked Speaker McCarthy's office for comment.
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