WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson, vice chairman of the U.S. House Republican conference, was elected the new House speaker in a full chamber vote Wednesday, bringing weeks of chaos to a momentary halt as Republicans struggled to find a replacement after the historical ouster of Kevin McCarthy.
Johnson, the fourth Republican nominee, won the gavel by a vote of 220-209, with unanimous Republican support.
Previous nominees -- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer -- all failed to garner enough Republican votes needed to reach the majority threshold.
The House has been leaderless for three weeks, after McCarthy was unprecedentedly removed from the speakership on Oct. 3, in a move initiated by a conservative member of his own party.
