Speaker of the House John Boehner announced he would retire from Congress on Friday.
Facing increasing pressure from the more conservative pieces of his party to toe a more conservative line the Speaker is getting out before he is forced out. He has gradually become more disliked as his party views him as too willing to compromise with Congressional Democrats and the White House.
"Last night I started thinking about this," he said in a press conference on his resignation. "I woke up, I said my prayers, and decided today was the day I'll do that. Simple as that."
Boehner and his allies have known the Speaker was vulnerable ever since January when tea party conservatives were just a few votes shy of electing an alternative leader of the party. Earlier this month North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows introduced an motion to "vacate the chair", a motion that would have removed Boehner as speaker had it been allowed to be put up for a vote and passed.
Boehner had originally intended to step down last year and allow his number two, House Majority Leader at the time Eric Cantor to take the gavel. Those plans were upended when Cantor was defeated in a primary challenge in his Virginia district by a little known economics professor.
So far it appears the most obvious successor to Boehner is Cantor's replacement, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Conservative hardliners may rally around a candidate involved in tea party circles such as Daniel Webster (R-FL) or Raul Labrador (R-ID) both of whom have challenged Boehner for the speakership in the past.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) the highest ranking Republican woman in the chamber and Steve Scalise (R-LA) the House Majority Whip are also possible candidates. However political pundits from CNN and Politico cite them as having more interest in the Majority Leader position.
A vote to elect the new speaker has yet to be announced but is widely expected to take place in early to mid October.
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