Kevin McCarthy, Republican candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress

Today, the Republican Party elected Kevin McCarthy as the head of the party in the US Congress, which opens the way for him to take over the strategic command of the House of Representatives of that body in January.

Fifty-seven-year-old McCarthy, who has held responsible positions in the lower house of Congress since 2014, had Andy Biggs, a member of the powerful ultraconservative group Freedom Caucus, as his opponent. Republicans voted by secret ballot.

Kevin McCarthy now needs to win a vote in the plenary session of the lower house on January 3 when the 435 newly elected representatives of the House of Representatives, Republicans and Democrats, will elect the speaker of that body. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the third most important person in American politics after the President and Vice President of the USA.

That vote is expected to be very close as Republicans look set to hold a very slim majority in the House of Representatives. The painstaking counting of votes after the recent mid-term elections is still ongoing.

Kevin McCarthy was weakened by the fact that the Republicans failed in this election and the so-called "red wave" predicted by conservatives did not happen.

Any departure from the Republican side will significantly complicate his choice for House Speaker, and the right wing of the party has signaled that they will set their own conditions before endorsing him.

In 2015, he narrowly failed to become the president of the House of Representatives.