Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who made history as the first speaker to be ousted from office, announced Wednesday that he will leave the House at the end of the year but said he intends to remain involved in Republican politics.
“I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office,” McCarthy said in a Opinion article in the Wall Street Journal announcing his plans. “The Republican Party expands every day, and I am committed to lending my expertise to support the next generation of leaders.”
McCarthy’s impending departure will reduce the already slim Republican majority, which fell to three seats from four with the ouster last week of Rep. George Santos of New York.
After being fired as speaker in October, McCarthy gave an inconclusive answer about his continued tenure in Congress. “I’ll take a look at that,” he said then. Later, in an effort to dismiss rumors and rumors that he was leaving immediately, he told reporters that he would stay and even planned to run for re-election.
But his position as a ranking member of the House alongside the Republicans who voted to remove him from power had become untenable, and McCarthy found the experience incredibly painful. His closest allies on the Hill have been anticipating his impending departure for weeks, even as he has dodged questions about his future.
McCarthy’s announcement came just days before California’s December 8 deadline for filing nominations for re-election.
Mr. McCarthy was first elected to Congress in 2007.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
