Paul Ryan re-elected US House Speaker

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

Paul Ryan on Tuesday handily won re-election as Speaker of the House or Representatives as Republicans prepare to control both houses of Congress and America's highest office.

Ryan won in a 239-189 vote, besting top Democratic lawmaker, Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi was re-elected to her position as minority leader.

"Honored to be elected Speaker of the House for the 115th Congress," Ryan tweeted shortly after the vote.

This year only one Republican representative backed a candidate other than Ryan, compared to 10 last year.

His victory comes as Republicans prepare to unravel successive Obama administration-era policies, most notably Obama's landmark universal health care achievement.

Ryan's confrontational history with President-elect Donald Trump could set the stage for disputes with the incoming administration, but since Trump's electoral win the two have largely softened their tone publicly.

Congress will now have to work with the White House on achieving some of the shared policy

goals they have set: repealing the Affordable Care Act, building a wall along the U.S.'s southern border and cutting business regulations.

Ryan has held the speakership since 2015.