House Speaker Boehner made the decision to resign this morning

At a press conference Friday afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner explained why he was stepping down as speaker and resigning from Congress at the end of October, a decision he announced through his aides Friday morning. "I planned, on my birthday, November 17, to announce that I was leaving at the end of the year," Boehner said. However, following his morning prayers Friday, he decided instead, "today's the day I'm going to do this."

Boehner spent a visibly emotional day Thursday in the presence of the pope, telling the press that he had a moment alone with the pontiff while leaving the congressional address. "The pope grabbed my left arm and said some very kind words to me about my commitment to kids and education," Boehner said, getting emotional again. He added that Pope Francis asked him to pray for him. "Who am I to pray for the pope?" Boehner exclaimed.

Boehner insisted he was not being pushed out as speaker, despite being an object of contempt among many leading conservative voices over what they see as his failure to stick to conservative principles and score larger victories over Democrats. Rather, Boehner reiterated that he decided to step down in order to strengthen the institution. "I am proud of what we have accomplished," he said.

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