Why did Kevin McCarthy quit?

The House majority leader seemed ready to succeed John Boehner as speaker. Then he abruptly dropped out. What happened?

Kevin McCarthy
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stunned Washington — and much of America — on Thursday afternoon when he abruptly withdrew his bid to become the next speaker of the House.

All indications were that the California Republican was aggressively campaigning for the job, and was easily the odds-on favorite to win it. "No one saw this coming," as NBC's Luke Russert said today, noting that at as recently as 8 a.m., McCarthy had clearly reiterated his interest in succeeding John Boehner.

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Matt K. Lewis

Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.