Former Speaker McCarthy retiring from Congress after ouster

In an opinion column published by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, recently removed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he would leave Congress at the end of the year. Earlier this year some Republicans moved to oust McCarthy after he sided with Democrats to pass a stopgap spending measure to keep some government offices open amid fears of a government shutdown.

What will McCarthy do next? In a video released on X—formerly known as Twitter—and YouTube, McCarthy said it was time for him to pursue his passion for serving the United States in a “new arena.” In his column in the Journal, McCarthy said that he would “continue to recruit” potential lawmakers to run for office and that he would continue to support the “next generation of leaders.” He is the second Republican to be leaving the House this month after lawmakers voted out Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., last week.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta and Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about the challenges facing House Republicans after McCarthy’s removal.