UPDATE: Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early Saturday, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and floor tensions that boiled over after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority's ability to govern.

As a stalemate is playing out in the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the election of a speaker of the house, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, who represents Butler County, said he will continue to support U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy for the position.

As of press time Friday night, 13 votes were taken in the House to elect a speaker. Another was underway as the House returned to the floor at 10 p.m.

“I’ll have the votes,” McCarthy said as he walked from the floor to his office following the 13th vote Friday.

None of the 13 had been successful in garnering the absolute majority — or 218 votes — needed to be installed as house speaker.

“A small but significant minority of House Republicans remain in steadfast opposition to Mr. McCarthy, despite receiving several of their demands from Mr. McCarthy,” Matthew Knoedler, Kelly’s spokesman, said in a Friday afternoon statement. “After three days of voting and a stalemate, Rep. Kelly believes it is time for the House Republican Conference to unite and return to the job the American people elected us to do: to serve them.”

McCarthy early on emerged the front runner for the Republican party, while Democrat Hakim Jeffries received votes from his party. However, during the numerous votes, a handful of Republicans in the Freedom Caucus continue to vote for Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida.

McCarthy predicted before Friday’s votes began that he’d see more support, which was the case. In the12th round of voting, more than a dozen lawmakers switched to support him and one who had previously voted “present” changed his vote to McCarthy.

The 13th round saw one more vote in McCarthy’s favor, but it was still not enough.

Electing a speaker is normally an easy, joyous task for a party that has just won majority control. But not this time: About 200 Republicans have been stymied by 20 far-right colleagues who said he’s not conservative enough.

The disorganized start to the new Congress pointed to difficulties ahead with Republicans now in control of the House, much the way that some past Republican speakers, including John Boehner, had trouble leading a rebellious right flank. The result: government shutdowns, standoffs and Boehner’s early retirement when conservatives threatened to oust him.

The agreement McCarthy presented to the holdouts from the Freedom Caucus and others centers around rules changes they have been seeking for months. Those changes would shrink the power of the speaker’s office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in drafting and passing legislation.

At the core of the emerging deal is the reinstatement of a House rule that would allow a single lawmaker to make a motion to “vacate the chair,” essentially calling a vote to oust the speaker.

McCarthy had resisted allowing a return to the longstanding rule that former speaker Nancy Pelosi had done away with, because it had been held over the head of past Republican Speaker Boehner. But it appears McCarthy had no other choice.

The upshot of the stalemate is that U.S. representatives who won their seats in November are sworn in by the speaker, so none — including Kelly — have been sworn in for their new term.

Knoedler said without being sworn in, some members of Congress are unable to receive critical intelligence briefings and national security information. Critical entities and agencies in government function as normal.

“So, without a Speaker of the House, the House of Representatives remains at a stalemate and cannot fully govern. Our Washington-based staff also remains in the office working on legislation and handling the business of our district,” he said Friday afternoon.

The stalemate means only a brief interruption in the legislative process, Knoedler said.

“There are some bills we planned to drop on day one that are on hold. Once a Speaker is confirmed, a rules package must be approved for any bills to formally be introduced. Once that happens, those bills can move forward, and it’s business as usual,” he said.

Knoedler added that the government remains fully funded, since the previous Congress approved a budget.

Constituents can still call and visit Kelly’s Butler District Office, or any offices, for assistance during this time.

“Our team is still coming to work and ready to help with constituent casework,” Knoedler said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.