House Republicans are approaching the new year wary about their slimming majority in the wake of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announced exit. McCarthy, R-Calif., said he would leave Congress by the end of this month after he was ousted from the speakership two months ago. It comes on the heels of the House expelling scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. House Republicans will only be able to lose three votes on any legislation to pass it without Democratic votes for the first several weeks of the new year, until special...

Wednesday, December 6 brought a major bombshell from the Wall Street Journal. In a WSJ op-ed, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) announced that he is resigning from Congress. McCarthy does not plan to serve out the rest of his term and will be gone by the end of 2023. The ex-speaker's announcement came less than a week after former Rep. George Santos (D-New York), facing felony corruption charges, was expelled from the House. A special election in the Queens/Long Island district that Santos represented could be quite competitive for...

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced Wednesday that he will leave Congress at the end of this year, making room for a new candidate to emerge in the rare California Republican stronghold. “I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office,” McCarthy wrote Wednesday in an op-ed about his resignation from Congress. "The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders." KEVIN MCCARTHY LEAVING CONGRESS AT END OF YEAR: 'LEAVING...

In hindsight after this past year, it seems inevitable that California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy's nearly two decades in Congress would end like this; with a rose-colored resignation letter published in a friendly newspaper and barely hinting at the turmoil and humiliation that that defined his tenure — and ultimate downfall — as the 55th Speaker of the House of Representatives. Insisting that "no matter the odds, or personal cost," the Republican "did the right thing," McCarthy's announcement that he has "decided to depart the House at the end of...

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) lost the speakership earlier this year when eight Republicans joined with all House Democrats to vacate his chair, and this week he announced he would be leaving Congress entirely at the end of the year. According to a new report from , his supporters aren't shocked about the sudden resignation, leaving the GOP with an even smaller margin than McCarthy managed through most of 2023. "He’s the hometown boy who made good, but then he had a tragic end,” Bakersfield City Council member Mark Salvaggio...

Eight years ago this week, Ryan Lizza wrote a memorable piece for The New Yorker about something he described as “the ‘Young Guns’ Jinx.” In the fall of 2010, when the Obama revolution was running out of gas and the Tea Party was ascendant, three up-and-coming House Republicans published a policy manifesto: “Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders.” The authors — Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, and Paul Ryan — were depicted together on the book’s cover casually smiling on a congressional balcony overlooking the Washington Mall. Not long...

The decision by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to announce his retirement from Congress with a pledge to stay involved in some manner in the pages was panned by one MSNBC analyst as On Wednesday McCarthy confirmed the rumors that he was stepping away following his ouster as the speaker by far-right conservatives led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl), writing, "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," before listing...

LOS ANGELES -- Two months after his historic ouster as U.S. House speaker, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that he is resigning and will leave Congress by the end of the year. His announcement capped a stunning end to a House career for the onetime deli counter owner from Bakersfield, Calif., who ascended through state and national politics to become second in line to the presidency, until a cluster of hard-right conservatives engineered his removal in October. McCarthy is the only speaker in history to be voted out of...

Hi OnPolitics readers! Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., started 2023 by being elected to the top job in the House after a marathon 15 rounds of voting. Catching up:McCarthy was ousted in October, after a group of Republican rebels voted with Democrats to remove him from his post. And today, he announced that he’s resigning from Congress and won’t run for reelection next year. "I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I know my work is...