Breaking: John Boehner to leave Congress at the end of October

According to multiple news outlets, John Boehner will resign his speakership AND leave Congress at the end of October.

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Here's the report, via the New York Times:

Speaker John A. Boehner, under intense pressure from conservatives in his party, will resign one of the most powerful positions in government and give up his House seat at the end of October, throwing Congress into chaos as it tries to avert a government shutdown. Mr. Boehner made the announcement in an emotional meeting with his fellow Republicans on Friday morning. The Ohio representative struggled from almost the moment he took the speaker’s gavel in 2011 to manage the challenges of divided government and to hold together his fractious and increasingly conservative Republican members.

According to the Washington Post, Boehner's departure is directly tied to the one thing about which virtually every conservative has been complaining: His complete inability to stand up to Barack Obama.

“He’s run circles around us since John Boehner was speaker of the House,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.). “I think it’s a victory for the American people.” Huelskamp said it was “clear that he did not have the votes to remain as speaker unless Nancy Pelosi helped him out, which is obviously a very vulnerable position.”

Yeah. If the only thing that will help a supposedly conservative Republican keep his job is the support of Nancy Pelosi, there's a problem. The man most often mentioned as Boehner's probable replacement is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Boehner is supposed to make an announcement later today. We'll have more as we hear it but, for now.... UPDATE (Dan): Boehner ally Ann EW Stone, a Washington-based consultant who is a Facebook friend, just said the following: "Boehner put his Party before himself...he is doing this to delay a shutdown...and to avoid more acrimony. I think the Pope's visit made it all clear to him...and was a highpoint in his life...." In an interesting back and forth that followed, a commenter said, "Thank you Lord Jesus," to which Ann replied, "You will live to regret those words." Ann frequently takes on Boehner's critics, yours truly included, and I get the impression from reading her comments that those loyal to Boehner believe his critics on the right have completely unrealistic expectations of what he could or should be able to achieve as Speaker with Obama in the White House. I don't agree, of course, but I do find it interesting and useful to understand how the other side thinks.