"Hours after becoming the first House speaker in history to be ousted from the job, California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday night he would not try to retake the gavel.

The stunning announcement will kick-start a weeklong race to succeed him — one with enormous policy implications for energy and environmental issues ahead of a presidential election year.

McCarthy’s departure from the speakership will also leave a void in a 14-year-long tenure as a member of the House GOP leadership team, where he worked to build a conservative policy platform that acknowledged the realities of climate change without forcing members to cut their ties to fossil fuels.

House Republicans left a closed-door meeting Tuesday evening still processing the events of the day, where eight Republicans joined with all Democrats in a 216-210 vote on a procedural motion to “vacate the chair.” Few, if any, would publicly endorse a successor."

Emma Dumain and Kelsey Brugger report for E&E News October 4, 2023. [2]