McCarthy faces a myriad of challenges as incoming US House Speaker

Republicans captured a thin House majority in November's midterm elections, breaking the hold of President Joe Biden's Democrats on both chambers of Congress, but instead of moving quickly on their own priorities, a group of about 20 hardliners delayed the House from getting started by forcing 15 leadership votes before Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House early on Saturday.

McCarthy won the House gavel in the end by making concessions to his hardline opponents, but his allies warn that those deals would make his job all the more difficult if he wins the speakership and has to corral his narrow 222-212 majority.

Andra Gillespie, a political scientist and professor at Emory University in Atlanta, told Reuters the concessions McCarthy made to secure the speakership could weaken his authority and possibly

"put Republicans in a position to do damage to their brand." She noted that polling data received in the coming weeks could show the impact of the Republican's public battle for House leadership.

Gillespie added McCarthy's relationship with former President Donald Trump is "fraught" but "still strong" and could prove to be a "risky proposition" for McCarthy long-term.

The biggest challenge facing the House in the coming months will be addressing the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury is expected to reach later this year.

Congress has come to the brink of default over the past years in standoffs over raising the debt ceiling, which is needed to cover costs that lawmakers have previously agreed to take on.

Reuters