McCarthy Bombshell Leaves House GOP in Chaos

House Republicans are in chaos after Thursday's political bombshell when Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the handpicked successor to Speaker John Boehner, announced he would not seek the post.

The prospects for electing a new speaker have dimmed. House Republicans are asking who now?

"I think I shocked some of you, huh?" McCarthy said. "The one thing I found in talking to everybody -- if we are gonna unite and be strong, we need a new face to help do that."

Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., characterized the situation as "insanity."

"The Republican Party has to show it can govern. We can't go on like this. This is insanity," he told the Daily News.

McCarthy's decision came after a closed-door meeting with the same conservatives who would challenge him on the House floor as speaker.

It also came after a letter from Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., calling for the next speaker to be above reproach in his or her personal life.

"I know what can happen to a party when you don't demand honesty and integrity in your leadership. I've seen it. I know what can happen," Jones told CBN News by phone.

CBN News' Jennifer Wishon spoke with Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., about his letter to the Republican Conference Chairman.

Two candidates for speaker -- Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah -- both say they were shocked by McCarthy's withdrawal.

"Our conference is gonna have to do a lot of deep soul searching," Chaffetz said. "And we'll see what happens."

The House speakership is a grueling, often thankless job, something akin to herding cats, and many of the House's brightest stars simply do not want the job.

Some are now urging former GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to throw his hat into the ring, though he still says he's not running.

"My statement stands," Ryan said.

Some are even throwing out the name of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is no longer a member of Congress. The House constitution does require the speaker to be an elected member.

For now, the McCarthy withdrawal means Boehner will have to stay on as speaker.