UPDATED: Kevin McCarthy Drops Out Of Race To Be Speaker Of The House
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the man who admitted the House Benghazi Committee was created to take down Hillary Clinton, has just dropped out of the race for Speaker.
Kevin McCarthy will not be the next Speaker of the House, something that up until this moment was all but certain. The California Republican created a firestorm when he admitted on Fox News that the Benghazi Committee, which cost taxpayers $4.5 million, was created to take down Hillary Clinton.
Speaker of the House John Boehner just announced the election to replace him will now be postponed.
This is a huge blow to McCarthy, the House Republican caucus, showing just how much in disarray the House GOP is.
On CNN just now, John King called it a “hostage crisis” by the House Freedom Caucus, the far right fringe of the GOP who would not support McCarthy.
Video with CNN’s Dana Bash, stunned, breaking the news:
.@GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy drops out of the race to succeed retiring Speaker @johnboehner http://t.co/6OZtrg079U http://t.co/QgQ8otjbgk
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 8, 2015
In an ironic twist, former Vice President Dick Cheney had just endorsed McCarthy to be Speaker.
Responses via Twitter:
Rep Pittinger said members were “shocked” and there was “total silence” in the room when McCarthy announced he was dropping out
— Deirdre Walsh (@deirdrewalshcnn) October 8, 2015
Whoa — McCarthy drops out of Speaker’s race … leadership races delayed .. yikes GOP disarray
— Ed Henry (@edhenry) October 8, 2015
Once again, if John Boehner and Kevin McCarthy can’t work with House Republicans, how on earth can President Obama work with them?
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 8, 2015
I asked @SenatorDurbin about the McCarthy news. His initial response was a stunned laugh
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) October 8, 2015
After this embarrassment does McCarthy stay in the House?
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 8, 2015
.@RepPaulRyan says he’s “disappointed” in McCarthy decision, but makes clear one more time: “I will not be a candidate” for Speaker.
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) October 8, 2015
Video of McCarthy making his announcement:
.@GOPLeader McCarthy: “I think I shocked some of you, huh?” http://t.co/tYXyDHBAzi http://t.co/gnVFkGPdO7
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 8, 2015
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This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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