Updated Saturday 1:10 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Kevin McCarthy has been elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks. Floor tensions boiled over into shouting after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority’s ability to govern. But McCarthy prevailed in the end as he had said he would. “Now the hard work begins,” he declared as supporters cheered. During four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to supporters. Then a few of the remaining holdouts switched to merely vote “present,” dropping the tally McCarthy needed to win.
On Friday, 15th congressional district Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) switched to vote for McCarthy in the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th rounds of voting after previously supporting Rep. Byron Donalds and Rep. Jim Jordan.
Here’s how Central Illinois’ congressional delegation voted in the 15 round of votes for House Speaker:
| Congressional District | Representative (Party) | Choice for House Speaker (Ballots) |
| 2 | Robin Kelly (D) | Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) all 15 ballots |
| 12 | Mike Bost (R) | Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) all 15 ballots |
| 13 | Nikki Budzinski (D) | Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) all 15 ballots |
| 15 | Mary Miller (R) |
Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) ballots 12, 13, 14, 15 Byron Donalds (R-FL) ballots 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Jim Jordan (R-OH) ballots 1, 2, 3 |
| 16 | Darin LaHood (R) | Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) all 15 ballots |
