John Boehner was today re-elected Speaker of the House, despite a small rebellion by conservative Republicans.
The Ohio congressman won a second term after a turbulent week which saw two-thirds of his party vote against him on a compromise to reverse the "fiscal cliff" and public fury from northeastern Republicans over his delay in sending aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy.
A dozen Republicans refused to support him as Speaker, with nine members casting their ballots for other people, two abstaining and one voting "present".
Despite widespread conservative anger over the fiscal cliff deal - which raised taxes on the wealthy but included no serious spending cuts - no other Republican stepped forward to mount a challenge to his re-election.
Mr Boehner became emotional as he accepted the gavel in the well of the House and urged the newly sworn-in 113th Congress to act quickly to address America's growing debt.
"If you have come here to see your name in lights or to pass off political victory as accomplishment, you have come to the wrong place. The door is behind you," he said.
Congressional rules allow a non-member of the House to become Speaker and two Republicans voted for Allen West, the Tea Party conservative who was defeated in November's election.
One Democrat cast his ballot for Colin Powell, the former general who went on to serve as Secretary of State under George W Bush.
Mr Boehner was ultimately elected with 220 votes, while Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat minority leader received 192.
The small-scale conservative rebellion provided a brief flash of drama in otherwise scripted first day of the 113th Congress.
The new Congress includes a record number of women: 80 of the 435 House representatives are female as are 20 of the 100 members of the US Senate.
Their ranks also include seven openly gay people including Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay member of the upper house.
Among the freshmen congressman is Joe Kennedy III, the grandson of Robert Kennedy and grand-nephew of JFK.
The Ohio congressman won a second term after a turbulent week which saw two-thirds of his party vote against him on a compromise to reverse the "fiscal cliff" and public fury from northeastern Republicans over his delay in sending aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy.
A dozen Republicans refused to support him as Speaker, with nine members casting their ballots for other people, two abstaining and one voting "present".
Despite widespread conservative anger over the fiscal cliff deal - which raised taxes on the wealthy but included no serious spending cuts - no other Republican stepped forward to mount a challenge to his re-election.
Mr Boehner became emotional as he accepted the gavel in the well of the House and urged the newly sworn-in 113th Congress to act quickly to address America's growing debt.
"If you have come here to see your name in lights or to pass off political victory as accomplishment, you have come to the wrong place. The door is behind you," he said.
Congressional rules allow a non-member of the House to become Speaker and two Republicans voted for Allen West, the Tea Party conservative who was defeated in November's election.
One Democrat cast his ballot for Colin Powell, the former general who went on to serve as Secretary of State under George W Bush.
Mr Boehner was ultimately elected with 220 votes, while Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat minority leader received 192.
The small-scale conservative rebellion provided a brief flash of drama in otherwise scripted first day of the 113th Congress.
The new Congress includes a record number of women: 80 of the 435 House representatives are female as are 20 of the 100 members of the US Senate.
Their ranks also include seven openly gay people including Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay member of the upper house.
Among the freshmen congressman is Joe Kennedy III, the grandson of Robert Kennedy and grand-nephew of JFK.
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