Outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has cast her vote for Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the lawmaker who will succeed her as leader of the Democratic caucus.

Sporting a bright pink pantsuit that made her impossible to miss among hundreds of lawmakers, Pelosi received a hearty round of applause from Democrats as she endorsed Jeffries during the first round. The moment was a passing of the baton from one generation of congressional leaders to the next.

Pelosi will continue to represent her California district, but will not be a member of the party's leadership in this Congress. She is the first and only woman to be Speaker, serving from 2007-2011, and 2019-2023.

Image source, Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images

No business can be undertaken within the House - not even the swearing in of new members of Congress - until a candidate has been chosen.

With McCarthy so far failing to win a majority after two rounds of votes, members of the House must keep voting until a winner emerges.

McCarthy has vowed to fight on even if he does not win immediately. And there is no other obvious candidate who could viably challenge for the speakership.

But having to hold more than one vote to decide on the Speaker would be embarrassing - not only for McCarthy, but for the Republican party too.

No other candidate running for the speakership for the first time has failed to win in the first vote for 100 years, so such a failure could weaken the Republicans' credibility within the House.

Read more on why some Republicans are challenging McCarthy.

If you want to watch events unfold live, there's a play button at the top of this page.

Press play and you can watch the vote in Congress as it happens.

Just like the first round of voting, the second ballot has not resulted in a majority for any candidate.

McCarthy didn't gain a single extra vote in this round. Jordan was the big gainer, with a number of supporters of other Republican candidates switching their support to the representative from Ohio.

Image source, Getty Images

Kevin McCarthy has made history, but for all the wrong reasons. For the first time in a century, someone vying for the role of House Speaker has not won in the first round of voting.

Not since 1923, when Frederick Gillet was elected as Speaker, has the vote gone to multiple ballots. It took several days and nine ballots until he was eventually elected.

It took even longer in the 1855-56 election, which is commonly viewed as the most contentious speaker election in US history.

On that occasion, it took 133 ballots over the course of two months until Nathaniel Banks became House Speaker in the 34th Congress.

Jim Jordan of Ohio has received more than four votes from Republican representatives. It means McCarthy is likely to lose the second round of voting, with 218 votes needed to secure the speakership.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York

Image source, EPA

A dramatic moment played out on the House floor just now, as Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio found himself both endorsing McCarthy for Speaker, and receiving an endorsement himself.

Jordan, one of the most conservative members of the Republican caucus, asked his colleagues to “rally around” McCarthy ahead of a second round vote.

Shortly after Jordan sat down, one of the Republicans rebelling against McCarthy stood up to propose an alternative.

“Maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the House isn’t someone who wants it so bad,” said Representative Matt Gaetz, before nominating Jordan for speaker.

This puts Jordan in an awkward spot; he’s publicly backing McCarthy, and is now a potential alternative.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York

Image source, EPA

At this point, McCarthy needs to find 15 votes.

Nineteen Republicans defected in the first round of voting, a number McCarthy anticipated in a closed door meeting earlier this morning, according to reports.

Now, he must go about the arduous work of winning most of them back in subsequent rounds of balloting. He can afford to lose only four votes.

Over the past several weeks, McCarthy has met with holdouts like Representative Andy Biggs, who just received 10 votes for speaker. He has offered concessions, such as a controversial rule change that would make it easier to force a vote to remove a House speaker.

But it’s clear his critics are not yet mollified. McCarthy faces at least one more round of voting, and may need to provide further concessions to holdouts to secure the support he needs.

The second round of voting has begun. Remember, a candidate needs a majority in the House - a total of 218 votes - to become speaker.

The Democrats' new leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, actually emerged with the most votes in the first round.

Jeffries got 212 votes to McCarthy's 203.

So why isn't he the winner?

Because a candidate needs a majority of the entire House of Representatives - a total of 218 votes - to become Speaker of the House.

Democrats only hold 213 seats, meaning even if every single Democrat votes for Jeffries (which they did) they would still be five votes shy of being able to obtain that majority.

Democrats, who are united around their candidate, have nominated Hakeem Jeffries to be Speaker of the House.

The New York congressmen's nomination is a historic moment in the US, as he would become the first black American to hold the role.

While he's very unlikely to succeed, given the Democrats are the smaller party in the House of Representatives, the fact he's set to become minority leader is historic in and of itself - as no black person has held that role either.

Watch the speech nominating Jeffries, from his colleague Pete Aguilar, below:

The voting process for Speaker of the House of Representatives has ended, with no one candidate getting the necessary 218 votes to win outright.

The results are:

• Kevin McCarthy (Republican) - 203 votes
• Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat) - 212
• Andy Biggs (Republican) - 10
• Others - 9

With 19 Republicans voting for people other than McCarthy, the House will need to vote again until someone gets an outright majority of the 434 members who can vote.

There might be some political wrangling behind the scenes, so stick with us for analysis and updates as the evening wears on.

The role of Speaker of the House is one of the most important jobs in US politics.

They control the legislative agenda and timetable in the House, as well as who sits on various committees.

If Republican Kevin McCarthy fails to win the speakership on his first attempt, it could weaken his and his party’s credibility.

This might hamper plans from Republicans in the House to investigate the Biden administration and President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

A group of Republicans who are opposed to Kevin McCarthy becoming speaker of the house are sat together in the House chamber.

Representatives Lauren Boebert, Scott Perry, Chip Roy and Ralph Norman are sitting next to each other.

As it becomes clear McCarthy will lose the first round of voting, getting these individuals on board will be critical to his securing the speaker role.

Image source, Reuters

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York

Republican Kevin McCarthy is set to lose his first-round vote to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, potentially endangering his bid to lead the chamber. Enough Republicans appear to have defected to force a second round.

This does not immediately end his candidacy; McCarthy may yet prevail in subsequent rounds of voting.

The House will keep voting for speaker until a candidate is elected, with a majority of at least 218 votes.

The chamber cannot proceed with any other business until they have chosen a speaker. That includes the swearing-in of new members of Congress, the adoption of new rules, and the introduction of new legislation.

It’s not yet clear how many rounds of balloting it will take for members to decide today’s contest. The process could take the rest of the day, or even continue for several days if no consensus is reached.

The last time a candidate for speaker failed to secure the necessary votes on the first round of ballots occurred in 1923. It took nine ballots - and several days - to select a speaker.

So far, five Republicans have voted against McCarthy. In theory, he could only afford to have lost four Republicans.

That means that McCarthy is unlikely to have the necessary vote on the first ballot, which could draw this process out. Some members may still decide to not vote - and vote only "present" - while others may have changed their vote.

So far, five Republicans have voted for Arizona's Andy Biggs, compared to over 60 for McCarthy.

As expected, Democrats have been united in their support of Hakeem Jeffries.

The vote for Speaker of the House has begun, with the 434 members of Congress being asked in alphabetical order who they are voting for.

Three candidates - Republicans Kevin McCarthy and Andy Biggs, as well as Democrat Hakeem Jeffries - are standing.

The winner needs 218 votes to be approved as speaker.

The process could take up to an hour.

Arizona Republican Paul Gosar - one of the anti-McCarthy lawmakers - has nominated another member from Arizona, Andy Biggs, to become House Speaker.

The move was expected. This is the group that has remained opposed to McCarthy's nomination.

"The power resides in we, the people," Gosar said. "Washington is broken. We're the last ones to know."

Biggs' nomination was met with a smattering of applause from the few lawmakers who have expressed their support for him.

Image source, Getty Images

Hakeem Jeffries is set to succeed Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives after a vote in Congress today. Pelosi was the first woman to serve as speaker, and will remain in office as a representative.

Jeffries would be the first black American to hold such a high-ranking position in Congress. He will have lots of influence, but because Republicans now control the House he would be minority leader (the name for the House leader of the second-largest party) and not the speaker.

He is a part of a younger generation of leaders within the 435-member House.

Jeffries has represented New York’s 8th congressional district in southern and eastern Brooklyn since 2013. This experience is something that could help Jeffries in his leadership, according to Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate.

Schumer said coming from Brooklyn means that:"You learn how to work with all kinds of different people. You learn how to stand your ground. You learn to not take things personally."

When Pelosi, 82, announced her exit in November, she said: "The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus."

It's the Democrats' turn - and they've just nominated Hakeem Jeffries to be Speaker of the House.

California Democrat Pete Aguilar calls Jeffries "the pride of Brooklyn" and touted his achievements on Capitol Hill.

"We are unified behind a speaker who is an apologetic advocate for protecting and expanding our freedoms," Aguilar says.

Aguilar also took several swipes at former President Donald Trump and at Republicans.

"Democrats are united," he said to applause.