Thursday House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy confirmed with 23ABC that he will accept the party nomination for Speaker of the House after a month of speculation.
Previously 23ABC reported on the major shake-up in Washington that took place in early April when House Speaker Paul Ryan announced he would not seek re-election in November.
Ryan said he wanted to spend more time with his family, "They have only known me as a weekend Dad because they were born after I was elected so that was a personal decision."
He's been the Congressman for Wisconsin's first district since 1999 and he was elected Speaker of the House in 2015.
At the time President Trump said Ryan, "Will leave a legacy that nobody can question." Sources said Ryan does not want to lead the GOP if it becomes the minority party in the house.
We won't know if that might be the case until after this year's mid-term elections. 43 house republicans have announced they are retiring, running for another office, or resigning.
House majority leader, and Bakersfield Congressman Kevin McCarthy once again was in the discussions of who will be the next speaker.
Both Congressmen McCarthy and house majority Whip Steve Scalise have both been keeping an eye on the Speaker of the House position following Ryan's announcement. Neither side is rounding up votes at this point in time, but there are talks about who's path to speakership is showing strength. The likely contenders are Bakersfield Congressman and house majority leader Kevin McCarthy and house majority Whip Steve Scalise.
Ryan, said he took the Speaker of the House job reluctantly from the beginning, "I have given this job everything I have and I have no regrets."
However, with Ryan's retirement plans, the national conversation is once again focused on who will replace the speaker.
Congressman McCarthy launched a failed bid for the speakership in 2015 after pulling out at the last minute. He has long said he has no intention to seek a higher position within the party, some say McCarthy is closer to the President than Ryan and that could play in his favor in the future, and he confirmed now that he will accept the party nomination.
Mccarthy has positioned himself closely with the President and at times Trump has referred to McCarthy as, "my Kevin."
With more than 40 republicans, including Ryan saying they will not seek re-election this year, McCarthy's path forward may be made difficult with the possibility that republicans could lose the house.
Congressman McCarthy tweeted about Ryan's upcoming departure saying, “Obviously, today is a sad day for me personally and for our conference.” He said speaker Ryan has the conference and the country in a better place.
Trump also tweeted about McCarthy having dinner with the GOP conference at the White House Wednesday.
