Republican California Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced on Wednesday that he will resign from Congress after being ousted as House speaker.
McCarthy made the announcement in an opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, vowing to continue to recruit Republicans to run for office.
“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing. That may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but delivering results for the American people is still celebrated across the country. It is in this spirit that I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I know my work is only getting started,” he wrote. “I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”
“It often seems that the more Washington does, the worse America gets. I started my career as a small-business owner, and I look forward to helping entrepreneurs and risk-takers reach their full potential. The challenges we face are more likely to be solved by innovation than legislation,” he continued.
The California Republican then recalled how he helped his party to a House majority twice before listing his other accomplishments.
“We got more Republican women, veterans and minorities elected to Congress at one time than ever before,” McCarthy wrote. “I remained cheerfully persistent when elected speaker because I knew what we could accomplish.”
“Even with slim margins in the House, we passed legislation to secure the border, achieve energy independence, reduce crime, hold government accountable and establish a Parents’ Bill of Rights. We did exactly what we said we would do.”
“We reduced the deficit by more than $2 trillion, revamped work requirements for adults on the sidelines, cut red tape for critical domestic energy projects, and protected the full faith and credit of the U.S. We kept our government operating and our troops paid while wars broke out around the world,” he added.
With the departure of former New York Rep. George Santos, and McCarthy, the House GOP margin goes down to just two at the end of the year.
