PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — A fractured Republican Party finally named a Speaker of the House early Saturday morning. Kevin McCarthy was elected to the position after 15 votes in a political fight Americans have not seen since the Civil War. At one point, it seemed that Republicans might come to blows on the House Floor.

Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Panama City) spoke exclusively with News 13 shortly after the final vote in the wee hours of Saturday morning. He said the floor fight was a symptom of a “terribly divided society,” but downplayed the idea that Republicans would not be able to lead going forward.

“This was just an agreement to work together towards the same goals the Republican Party has committed itself to for decades,” Dunn said.

Dunn represents Northwest Florida and comes from the same part of the country as Republican Matt Gaetz (R-Niceville). Gaetz and his “Freedom Caucus” led the revolt against McCarthy’s leadership. However, Dunn voted for McCarthy throughout the process and downplayed the concessions that McCarthy gave away to become Speaker.

For instance, he noted that before 2019 one representative could always call for a vote to remove the speaker. That change back to the old rule was one of the deals McCarthy made with Gaetz to get elected. He noted that it was never used before that time.

Gaetz suggested something different in his interviews with the media saying that he got major concessions from McCarthy about issues the extreme right wing of the party cares deeply about. He went added that he got so much from McCarthy that he was “running out of stuff to ask for.”

“Republicans have always been more independent minded frankly amongst each other than the Democrats,” Dunn said. “It’s painful, this process, but it’s also useful, everybody gets a chance to you know to sort of sand down the sharp edges of each other.”

Dunn added that while former Speaker Nancy Pelosi ruled her members with an iron fist McCarthy is more of a listener.

“He’s always been very receptive,” Dunn said. “We don’t compel people, we don’t punish people, we just say, ‘please be honest with the whip tells us how you’re going to vote and tell us why you are going to vote that way.’”

With the floor fight finally over Republicans will now attempt to get their agenda through Washington. If they can keep their slim majority together to pass legislation in the House they will face a Democrat majority in the Senate that is unlikely to yield to their demands.