Pelosi re-elected as US House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi, the only woman to serve as US Speaker of the House, was narrowly re-elected to the position Sunday in a deeply divided new Congress that convened in the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency. Pelosi, 80, faced a scare when five fellow Democrats defected and voted "present" or for someone else during the floor vote. But the woman who is third in line to the presidency secured her fourth -- and perhaps final -- non-consecutive term as House speaker by earning 216 votes versus 209 for Republican leader Kevin McCarthy. In a symbolic gesture beginning the 117th Congress, McCarthy formally handed the speaker's gavel over to Pelosi, who raised it in triumph as Democrats cheered and applauded.