John Boehner, who mopped floors as a janitor to put himself through college, was chosen the 53rd speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives two months after the 2010 elections swept his Republican Party into control.

The House in a roll-call vote selected Boehner, 61, of Ohio to succeed California Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker. Boehner received 241 votes, Pelosi 173.

Democrats, who had controlled the chamber since 2007, lost 63 House seats in the Nov. 2 elections that President Barack Obama described as a “shellacking.”

Full article at source: Bloomberg.com