Republican Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, confirmed on Tuesday that he will not run for the post again.
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"I will not run for speaker again. I will have the (Republican) conference pick somebody else," McCarthy told reporters at a press conference at the Capitol. "I have no regrets that I chose to govern rather than complain. It's my responsibility. It's my job. I don't regret negotiating. Our government is designed to compromise," he said.
His comments came after the Republican-controlled House passed an unprecedented motion to impeach McCarthy as chairman. Eight Republicans joined Democrats in ousting McCarthy, less than a day after the no-confidence motion was introduced.
McCarthy became the first Speaker of the House to be removed mid-term, following the motion by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, an ally of former President Donald Trump.
Gaetz and other hard-line Republicans had warned for weeks that they would take action to oust McCarthy if he counted on Democrats to pass funding legislation that has averted the Washington administrative shutdown.
Republican Rep. Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina has been named acting speaker of the House following McCarthy's ouster. The House now needs to elect a new speaker.
For his part, U.S. President Joe Biden urged the swift election of a new speaker of the lower House of Congress. "Because the urgent challenges facing our nation will not wait, (Biden) expects the House to quickly elect a president," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement after the vote.
Jean-Pierre added that "Once the House of Representatives has fulfilled its responsibility to elect a president, he looks forward to working together with them and the Senate to address the priorities of the American people."