Kevin McCarthy fights for political life after losing initial Speaker vote

Kevin McCarthy was in the fight of his political life on Tuesday after he lost an initial vote to be elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, becoming the first majority party leader in a century to falter in the early ballot.

At the end of the first round of voting on Tuesday afternoon, McCarthy had secured just 203 votes, 15 short of the 218 required to seize the Speaker’s gavel, after 19 Republicans voted against him.