By Oyintari Ben
Kevin McCarthy has been nominated by his party to be the Speaker of the new Congress as the Republicans are on the verge of regaining control of the House of Representatives.
He received 188 votes in a ballot held behind closed doors on Tuesday to become the House speaker.
To secure the position, Mr. McCarthy will need 218 votes, or a majority of the House, in January.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would be replaced if he prevails.
Democrats led by President Joe Biden have already maintained control of the Senate.
Mr. McCarthy, a native of California, has served as the House representative representing a region of the state that leans overwhelmingly Republican since 2007.
In a letter to House Republicans last week, he formally announced his bid for speaker and asked them to “stay together and maintain our purpose.”
Republicans look to be on the approach of capturing a razor-thin House majority, with votes still being tallied in some crucial contests, but they fall far short of the “red wave” some had projected.
Mr. McCarthy had previously run for speaker in 2015 but was forced to resign due to an error.
In an interview with Fox News, he claimed that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was the target of a Republican-led congressional probe into the 2012 attack on a US diplomatic compound in Libya.
Following the 2018 US midterm elections, in which Republicans lost control of the House; McCarthy was elected House minority leader. During this time, Mr. McCarthy grew close to former US President Donald Trump.
With 188 votes in favour and 31 votes against on Tuesday, Mr. McCarthy handily defeated right-wing populist congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona for the speaker candidacy.
To become speaker in January, Mr. McCarthy must now persuade the colleagues who supported Mr. Biggs.
