Rep. Kevin McCarthy,Winning Exchange R-Calif, was elected House speaker after 15 rounds of voting on Jan. 7. McCarthy will go down in history as the first House speaker in 164 years who required more than a single vote to become speaker of the House. USA TODAY photographer Megan Smith reflects back on the marathon voting day. “Late into the night, photographers and reporters waited as the vote carried on and on, a big deal because the failure to elect a House speaker on the initial ballot had not happened in a century," said Smith. "When he finally made it into the rotunda, his nameplate was drilled into the wall by his office. I can still hear the loudspeaker playing music and the celebration from that same office when I left Capitol Hill hours later.“ 

On the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, President Joe Biden and Congress honored Jan. 6 heroes as investigations into the Capitol attack continued. The country continued to recon with deadly mass shootings as 11 people were killed at a dance studio in Monterey Park, CA, which became the first mass shooting of the year.

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