Author: Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY

The GOP leader survived one of the longest speaker races in U.S. history by winning over foes in what marks a turbulent start to the 118th Congress.

After 11 ballots Kevin McCarthy still lacks the needed votes as Republican and Democrats express frustration over congressional paralysis.

The ongoing defeats came despite pleas to the rebel faction from former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to back McCarthy.

McCarthy’s loss underscores how GOP infighting between moderates and hard-liners will complicate the GOP’s majority in the House of Representatives.

The Georgia Senate runoff race, which cost $380 million in total, underscored how deeply the country is divided going into 2023.

Georgia voters give Joe Biden and Democrats a critical 51-seat edge in the Senate, which will no longer require a tie break vote to confirm judges.

The former president returned to Georgia boosting Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock ahead of the rematch against Republican Herschel Walke on Dec. 6.

In Georgia’s toss-up Senate contest, Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock traded jabs over various issues in a debate that at times got personal.

The panel’s ninth hearing included footage of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi asking for help as rioters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican Ted Budd’s debate comes as their race could determine who controls the Senate after the 2022 midterm elections.