Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has decided he will not run for speaker of the House again, reported Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman on Tuesday evening.
According to Sherman, McCarthy — who this week became the first Speaker in U.S. history to be ousted by a vote of the House — is expected to tell the GOP caucus in a closed-door meeting tonight.
The decision clears the way for McCarthy's direct allies to put themselves forward for consideration to replace him as Speaker.
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McCarthy's ouster was triggered by a motion filed by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who for months has escalated his attacks on GOP leadership, accusing McCarthy of going back on agreements he made with key members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus at the start of the year as a condition of becoming Speaker in the first place.
With McCarthy out of the way, several other people could be in contention for the role.
Some names that have been floated include Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-OK), who is the current speaker pro tempore and the chair of the House Financial Services Committee; Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), McCarthy's second-in-command who is currently being treated for blood cancer; and Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
