Historical eventJanuary 72023

January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election

The longest U.S. House of Representatives speaker election since the December 1859 – February 1860 U.S. speaker election concludes and Kevin McCarthy is elected 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Everything on January 7Original source

In context

When
Saturday, January 7 20233 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2020s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2023.

What came beforeAI-assisted

Republicans gained control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections with a narrow 222–213 majority. Kevin McCarthy had been the House Minority Leader and was expected to become Speaker, but faced opposition from a group of hardline conservative members who demanded significant concessions.

Previous speaker elections had been routine one-round votes. The last contested speaker election occurred in 1859–1860, when it took 133 rounds over two months to elect William Pennington.

Catalyst / how it startedAI-assisted

The new 118th Congress convened on January 3, 2023, but McCarthy could not secure the 218 votes needed for speaker on the first ballot. A faction of hardline conservatives, led by members like Matt Gaetz and Thomas Massie, withheld their votes to extract concessions on rules and committee assignments.

Who was involvedAI-assisted

Kevin McCarthy was the Republican nominee for Speaker. The opposing faction included at least 20 hardline conservative House Republicans who demanded rule changes, including the ability to remove McCarthy through a motion to vacate.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries received votes from all Democrats but could not reach 218 votes without Republican support. Moderate Republicans ultimately supported McCarthy after negotiations.

TimelineAI-assisted

January 3: The 118th Congress convened; McCarthy failed on the first ballot. Subsequent rounds continued over four days with no resolution.

January 7: On the 15th round of voting, McCarthy secured 216 votes and was elected Speaker after agreeing to significant rule concessions demanded by the conservative faction.

What happened

The longest U.S. House of Representatives speaker election since the December 1859 – February 1860 U.S. speaker election concludes and Kevin McCarthy is elected 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

January 7 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1993Bosnian War
  2. 1994British Aerospace Jetstream 41
  3. 1999Impeachment of Bill Clinton
  4. 2010Nag Hammadi
  5. 2012Hot air balloon
  6. 2015January 2015 Sanaa bombing
  7. 2015Charlie Hebdo shooting
  8. 20202019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes
  9. 20202019–2020 Spanish government formation
  10. 2023January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
  11. 2025January 2025 Southern California wildfires

Also in 2023

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  • October 142023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendumAustralians vote to reject a constitutional amendment that would have established an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
  • January 182023 Brovary helicopter crashA helicopter crash in Ukraine leaves 14 people dead, including the country's Interior Minister, Denys Monastyrsky.
  • June 8Donald TrumpFormer US President Donald Trump is indicted on federal charges of misusing classified information.

Everything we record for 2023 →

Sources

Cite this page

“January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/january-2023-speaker-of-the-united-states-house-of-representatives-election-2023-january-7, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election happen?

January 7 2023 — 3 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints. Panels marked AI-assisted were filled where the sources left a heading empty.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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