Washington: Representative Kevin McCarthy of the Republican party was elected as the minority leader of the House on Wednesday.
McCarty will succeed Paul Ryan whose term ends in January 2019, reported CNN.
McCarthy won with the vote count of 159-43 after facing a fierce battle against his rival Representative Jim Jordan.
As Ryan’s term comes to an end, McCarthy is now number 2 House Republican and had long been viewed as a strong contender for minority leader in the new Congress.
He will hold the highest-ranking Republican leadership post with Republicans in the minority after losing control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections.
Earlier in April this year, Ryan had announced that he would not seek re-election and had endorsed McCarthy to be his successor.
“We will work with anybody across that aisle if they are there to work to move America forward. But let me be very clear, if their agenda is simply investigations, impeachment, and not focused on the hardworking American public, we will be there to defend the American public,” said McCarty as quoted by CNN.
In a letter announcing his bid, he wrote, “We need to lay the groundwork to regain the majority so that we can continue working alongside President Trump to fulfill our promise to fundamentally change Washington. I helped build a majority from a deeper hole than this and I have what it takes to do it again.”
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