Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is resigning from Congress early and will not run for reelection next year, punctuating a historic Capitol Hill career after 15 rounds of voting to become speaker in January and getting ousted 10 months later by a conservative rebellion.
“I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I know my work is only getting started,” McCarthy said in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
Though McCarthy’s next steps are uncertain, he has promised to stay involved in Republican politics.The California Republican declined to make another bid for the gavel after being removed as speaker in October.
“I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders,” McCarthy said.
Eight Republicans voted with House Democrats in October to remove the California Republican from his leadership post.
When one of the eight GOP members who voted to oust McCarthy, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., was asked by Newsembassy what he thought about McCarthy’s departure, he smiled: “I thank him for his service and wish him well.”
Regardless of his ouster, McCarthy, in a video after his announcement, said he is “proud of what we have accomplished,” touting the bipartisan debt ceiling agreement he struck with President Joe Biden to avert a catastrophic default and his efforts to avoid a government shutdown. Both of those deals played a role in his eventual removal from the speakership by a conservative rebellion.”
