McCarthy officially out of Congress after tumultuous speaker tenure

His departure leaves Republicans with a narrow majority in the House, which previously shrunk in the wake of the expulsion of former New York GOP Rep. George Santos.

By Ben Whedon

Published: December 19, 2023 3:20pm

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday officially left the House of Representatives, with the clerk reading his resignation on the floor.

The California Republican was ousted from his leadership position in October, following a months-long struggle with House conservatives. Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz a small dissident bloc in removing him, marking the first instance of the lower chamber firing the speaker in American history.

"I hereby submit my resignation effective on December 31, 2023, as United States Representative of the 20th District of California," the clerk said, reading of his resignation letter, according to Politico.

His departure leaves Republicans with a narrow majority in the House, which previously shrunk in the wake of the expulsion of former New York GOP Rep. George Santos.

McCarthy announced his resignation plans in early December and has since expressed openness to serving in a Trump cabinet should the former president reclaim the White House in 2024.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.