Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader of the US House of Representatives, has been elected House speaker in the 15th round of votes, ending a historic standoff.

McCarthy secured the majority of votes to win the speakership on Saturday.

The House session began on Tuesday. McCarthy had struggled to gain support from hardline conservatives in his own party.

In the 13th ballot on Friday, 14 out of the 20 Republicans who had remained opposed to McCarthy's speakership flipped to vote for him. In the following ballot, McCarthy was only one vote shy.

In the 15th, which took place after a break, the six holdouts withheld their votes without backing McCarthy nor voting for another contender. This led him to secure the majority with 216 votes.

This is the first time in 164 years that the House voted more than 10 times to pick a speaker.

The Republicans got off to a shaky start despite their regained control of the House.