The 117th US Congress took office with Nancy Pelosi securing re-election as Speaker House Of Representative

The 117th US Congress took office on Sunday with Nancy Pelosi securing re-election as Speaker of the House of Representatives with a narrow voting margin.

Pelosi, 80, retained the position after garnering 216 votes to beat her rival, Kevin McCarthy of the Republican Party, who secured 209 votes.

Five fellow Democrats chose not to support Pelosi. While two voted for lawmakers who were not running, three others simply voted “present”, according to ABC news.

This will be the California lawmaker’s 4th term (non-consecutive) as speaker, and she remains the only woman to have ever held the office.