This just in. From the New York Times:
Speaker John A. Boehner will resign from Congress and give up his House seat at the end of October, according to aides in his office.
Mr. Boehner was under extreme pressure from the right wing of his conference over whether or not to defund Planned Parenthood in a bill to keep the government open.
ABC News carries an abbreviated version of the announcement on Twitter:
MORE: Speaker John Boehner to resign from Congress at the end of October: http://t.co/YEJTIP9Jbg pic.twitter.com/ETbPAxfoky
— ABC News (@ABC) September 25, 2015
No announcement has been made yet regarding Boehner’s replacement as House speaker.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
*UPDATE* An aide to John Boehner released a statement in the last hour that reads:
Speaker Boehner believes that the first job of any Speaker is to protect this institution and, as we saw yesterday with the Holy Father, it is the one thing that unites and inspires us all.
The Speaker’s plan was to serve only through the end of last year. Leader Cantor’s loss in his primary changed that calculation.
The Speaker believes putting members through prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution.
He is proud of what this majority has accomplished, and his Speakership, but for the good of the Republican Conference and the institution, he will resign the Speakership and his seat in Congress, effective October 30.
Boehner’s most likely replacement at this point is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
