Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) became the 55th Speaker of the US House of Representatives  in the midnight hour on Saturday, ending a historic four-day, 15-ballot stalemate caused by a group of 20 hardline conservative members—and fulfilling the California Republican’s longtime goal, The Hill reported.

McCarthy’s securing of the Speakership came after a dramatic scene on the House floor on the 14th ballot, with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) casting the deciding vote that put McCarthy just one vote shy of the gavel. 

Republicans were about to adjourn until Monday—until Gaetz approached McCarthy, asking for one more vote. On that ballot, all remaining holdouts flipped to vote present so he would win.

It is a major victory for McCarthy. There were points where many outside observers—and even privately some of his House GOP supporters—did not think he was going to be able to pull it off.