Kevin McCarthy Will Not Run For Speaker Again After Ouster

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will not run again for speaker of the House, he announced Wednesday.

Doing the right thing isnt always easy, but it is necessary, he said during a press conference. I dont regret standing up for choosing governing over grievance. I do not regret negotiating; our government is designed to find compromise.

Ill have the conference pick somebody else, he continued, adding that the country was too great for small visions in reference to the Republicans who voted to remove him from power. I hope you realize that every day, I did the job I wanted to do it with a smile.

McCarthy was suddenly removed from his post on Tuesday in a shocking 216-210 vote, with eight Republicans siding with all Democrats in the chamber. The shocking outcome followed a motion by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to see McCarthys speakers gavel taken away.

McCarthy first made the announcement to his Republican colleagues in a closed-door meeting shortly after the vote. Punchbowl News Jake Sherman reported that the lawmaker had received an offer from Democrats to make a deal that would restore him to power but that McCarthy said he wasnt going to sell my soul.

When we come out of the next vote, lets elect that person on the first round, McCarthy reportedly said in the meeting. If I have to be the sacrifice, so be it.

Im not going to sell my soul to Democrats. Ill still work to get you elected -- maybe not all of you because i'm a free agent.

When we come out of the next vote, let's elect that person on the first round. if i have to be the sacrifice, so be it.

We're the only conservative

Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 3, 2023","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Jake Sherman","author_url":"https://twitter.com/JakeSherman","cache_age":86400,"description":"Im not going to sell my soul to Democrats. Ill still work to get you elected -- maybe not all of you because i'm a free agent.When we come out of the next vote, let's elect that person on the first round. if i have to be the sacrifice, so be it. We're the only conservative Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 3, 2023\n\n","options":{"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Jake Sherman on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1709341670221775347","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"651c9c61e4b094f84021b224","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/kevin-mccarthy-wont-run-for-speaker-again_n_651c9c61e4b094f84021b224","entryTagsList":"republican-party,california,kevin-mccarthy,house-of-representatives,@developing,@us_huffpost_now","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/b7285668-bddc-4794-a915-d0870a6d6254/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"651c9c61e4b094f84021b224","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/republican-party","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/republican-party"},{"name":"California","slug":"california","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/california","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/california","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/california"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"California","slug":"california","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/california"},{"name":"Kevin McCarthy","slug":"kevin-mccarthy","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/kevin-mccarthy","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/kevin-mccarthy","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/kevin-mccarthy"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Kevin McCarthy","slug":"kevin-mccarthy","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/kevin-mccarthy"},{"name":"House Of Representatives","slug":"house-of-representatives","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/house-of-representatives","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/house-of-representatives","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/house-of-representatives"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"U.S. House of Representatives","slug":"us-house-of-representatives","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/us-house-of-representatives"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Im not going to sell my soul to Democrats. Ill still work to get you elected -- maybe not all of you because i'm a free agent.

When we come out of the next vote, let's elect that person on the first round. if i have to be the sacrifice, so be it.

We're the only conservative
Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 3, 2023

McCarthys decision will only add to the drama that unfolded Wednesday when the chamber backed a resolution to vacate the office of the speaker for the first time in the Houses history.

The House will effectively be leaderless until it elects a new speaker, although its unclear who that could be amid an ongoing revolt from the far-right contingent of the Republican caucus.

Many of McCarthys allies and others in the GOP were furious with Gaetz and the seven other Republicans who voted to remove him.

We have eight people that do not want to be part of the governing majority, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told reporters. They are undependable. You cant count on them.

McCarthy added Wednesday night that the vote to remove him reflected a real divide within his party.

You all know Matt Gaetz. You know it was personal. It was all about getting attention from you, McCarthy told reporters. It had nothing to do [with] spending. And regardless of what you think, I have seen the texts. It was all about his ethics.

They are not conservatives, he went on. They dont get to say theyre conservative because theyre angry and chaotic. Thats not the party I belong to.