Republican leaders in Congress scrambled to fend off challenges from loyalists of former president Donald Trump as the party was engulfed by internal tensions after lacklustre results in the midterm elections.
A week ago, Republicans failed to regain control of the Senate from Democrats and are poised to win only a slim majority in the House of Representatives, as the “red wave” of widespread wins they saw coming on the eve of the election failed to materialise.
In a secret ballot on Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House, was backed to be his party’s nominee for speaker by a margin of 188 to 31 votes, but so many defections spell trouble ahead of a formal vote in early January when he will need support from 218 lawmakers for the top job.