Republican rebels: the hardline House members voting against McCarthy

The continued chaos has also exposed the sharp rifts that have developed within the Republican party.

Many in the group are members of the House freedom caucus, a collection of some of the most staunchly rightwing Republicans in the lower chamber of Congress.

Perry is the only member of the group from above the Mason-Dixon line that traditionally separates the southern United States from the north.

Second-term representative and freedom caucus member Byron Donalds emerged from relative obscurity when he received some 20 votes in multiple rounds of voting in the speakership election.

One of only four Black House Republicans, the hard-right representative from Florida is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and son of a single mother, and has often spoken on the campaign trail of overcoming life adversities.

He is widely known in Congress for obstructionist procedural motions and dissatisfaction with the current legislative rules. Unlike many of his peers, he was sharply critical of Trump and many of his Republican colleagues over their handling of the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol.

While some Republicans oppose McCarthy because they say he has proved an obstacle to their rightwing agenda and will make for a weak foe to the Democratic president, Joe Biden, others just seem to dislike him personally, whatever policies he espouses.

A born-again Christian who represents a sprawling district in western Colorado, Boebert is widely known for her unwavering support of gun rights and her confrontational tactics.

She has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, which holds that there is a secret, pedophilic, leftist elite that holds immense sway over global institutions and policy.

Boebert is one of the top fundraisers among House Republicans and brought in more than $7m for her reelection bid, to eke out one of the closest wins of the November midterms.

Biggs bemoaned the lack of selflessness and principle in modern politics in a tweet posted before the first round of voting, when he stood as a symbolic opponent to his fellow Republican.

The son of a prominent Florida Republican, he has claimed falsely that the 6 January attack on the US Capitol was instigated by far-left extremists. He was also a top fundraiser in the caucus, raising more than $6m for his reelection bid.

A handful are newly elected but the majority earned their stripes in the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement that grew out of opposition to president Barack Obama from 2010.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report