The Republican-controlled 114th Congress is officially underway with John Boehner winning another term as Speaker of the House, and Iowa making history with Joni Ernst being sworn in as its first woman elected to Congress.

As required by law and the 20th amendment to the Constitution, both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate convened at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time to begin the new session.

In the House, a vote for Speaker of the House reelected U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, to his third term as the Speaker.

Out of 434 members serving at the start of the Congress, 408 were present for the vote. Boehner received the majority of votes with 216. Most Democrats voted for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who received 164 in total.

The vote was not without some defections from fellow Republicans.

Throughout the week, several conservative members expressed dissatisfaction with Boehner as Speaker. U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who represents Ames, announced Sunday night via his Twitter account he would not support Boehner for speaker.

Instead, during the nominating process on the House floor, King nominated U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster, a Republican congressman from Florida who has served in the House since 2011.

“We need a Speaker who will help us all keep our oath, including his own, to the Constitution, not one who has consistently blocked our efforts to keep ours,” King wrote in an article for the conservative news site Breitbart.com.

Incoming U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, the newly-elected Republican from Iowa’s first district who is replacing former U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, cast his first vote in the House against the leadership, instead also voting for Webster.

“I was elected by Iowans to stand up to the status quo in Washington, DC, and I refuse to turn my back on them with my first vote,” Blum said. “While I know Speaker Boehner is a good man and I respect the job he has done as Speaker, I must follow the will of Eastern Iowans who rejected politics as usual in November and are calling for change in DC.”

In the end, King’s nomination of Webster was able to rack up 12 votes in total from other members. U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, received three votes. U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., received two votes. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, received two votes. Six other Representatives got one vote, including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Several Democrats also voted against Pelosi for Speaker.

The Speaker of the House does not necessarily have to be a member of the House, evident by votes for two Senators, Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who both received one vote each. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served under President George W. Bush, also received a vote for Speaker.

The other members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation voted with their party’s leadership. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, Democrat from the second district, voted for Pelosi, while newly elected U.S. Rep. David Young, Republican from the third district, voted for Boehner.

On the Senate side of the Capitol, it was an historic day for Iowa.

Newly elected U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, the Republican from Red Oak, was sworn into office and is now officially the junior Senator from Iowa. 

Ernst is Iowa’s first new Senator in almost thirty years. She is taking the seat of Tom Harkin, Iowa’s longtime Democratic Senator, who retired at the end of the last Congress. Her election in November makes her the first woman to be elected to Congress from Iowa.

Ernst was accompanied to the front of the Senate chamber by Harkin and Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s senior Senator, who Ernst will serve along with in the new Congress.

Vice President Joe Biden, who is also president of the Senate, administered the oath of office to Ernst and several other members who were also elected in November’s midterm election. Ernst could be seen tearing up as the oath was read.

Ernst will serve a six-year term and announced in mid-December she will serve on four committees, the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry committee, the Armed Services committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship committee.

“I’ve been preparing for this for a longtime,” Ernst told a reporter. “I’m ready to get started. I love the pomp and circumstance, but I’m really ready to get to work.”