WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) — Speaker of the House John Boehner announced Wednesday an election to select his replacement is scheduled to take place Oct. 8.
The announcement comes days after House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced his intention to become Boehner’s successor.
McCarthy said Monday that he intends to acknowledge the differences that permeate Congress and resolve them through “work, time and trust.” At 50 years of age, McCarthy has been a member of House leadership since 2009 and elected majority leader in 2014.
Some may view McCarthy as a continuation of a Republican perspective held by Boehner, one that was criticized for its failure to sufficiently challenge the Obama administration on issues including immigration and Planned Parenthood funding.
Should McCarthy be elected Speaker, that leaves another hole in Republican leadership for the majority leader spot.
There was some speculation Tuesday U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy might be interested in the job, but a curious speech he gave later in the day left some fellow Republicans wondering if the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi might be retiring from Congress.
At a closed-door meeting Gowdy gave an emotional speech saying he would not be a candidate for leadership in Congress and that he will remain focused on the work being done by his committee. Some members of Congress interpreted this as a farewell speech but Gowdy’s spokeswoman denied the rumor.
