He had been facing a floor vote of whether he should stay on as speaker. He discusses reasons for resigning at a news conference. My oh, myehner what a wonderful day i used to sing that on my way to work in the morning. Less costly, more accountable government. Over the last five years, our majority has advanced conservative reforms that will help our children and their children. Were now on track to cut Government Spending by 2. 1 trillion over the next 10 years. We made the first real entitlement reform in nearly two decades. And we protected 99 of the American People from an increase in our taxes. Weve done all this with a democrat in the white house. So im proud of what weve accomplished. But more than anything, my first job is as speaker is to protect the institution. A lot of you know now know that my plan was to step down at the end of last year. I decided in november of 2010 that when i was elected speaker that serving two terms would have been plenty. And but in june of last year when it became clear that the majority leader lost his election, i didnt frankly believe it was right for me to leave at the end of last year. So my goal was to leave at the end of this year. So i planned actually on my birthday, november 17, to announce that i was leaving at the end of the year. But its become clear to me that this prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable harm to the institution. So this morning i informed my colleagues i would resign from the speakership and resign from congress at the end of october. Now, as youve often heard me say, this isnt about me. Its about the people, its about the institution. Just yesterday we witnessed the awesome sight of pope francis addressing the greatest legislative body in the world. And i hoped we will all heed his call to live by the golden rule. But last night i started to think about this, and this morning i woke up and i said my prayers as i always do and i decided, you know, todays the day im going to do this. As simple as that. Thats the code i always lived by, if you do the right things for the right reasons, the right things will happen. And i know good things lie ahead for this house and this country and im proud of what weve accomplished, especially proud of my team. You know, ive been here my 25th year here and ive succeeded in large part because i put a staff together and a team together, many of which have been with me for a long time. And without a great staff you cant be a great member and you certainly cant be a great speaker. Im going to thank my family for putting up with this all these years. My poor girls who are now 37 and 35. Their First Campaign photo was in july of 1981, and so theyve had to endure all this. Its one thing for me to have to endure it. But, you know, the girls and my wife, they had to put up with a lot over the years. Let me express my gratitude to my constituents whove sent me here 13 times over the last 25 years. You cant get here without getting votes. But i say this often. People ask me, whats the greatest thing about being speaker or about being elected official . Its the people you get to meet. I have tens of thousands of people in my own district that i would have not met other than the fact i decided to ran for congress. Over the years as i traveled on behalf of my colleagues and the party, ive met tens of thousands of additional people all over the country. And you meet rich people, you meet poor people, you meet interesting people. Probably a few others along the way but i can tell you that 99. 9 of the people i meet on the road anywhere could not be could not be nicer than theyve been. Its been really, its been wonderful. Its been an honor to serve in this institution, and with that all right, junior, go ahead. Reporter Speaker Boehner, you were noticeably overcome with emotions yesterday. Speaker boehner really, what a surprise. Reporter did you make this decision last night if the grace of pope francis led you to this decision . Speaker boehner no. No. Yesterday was wonderful day. It really was. Was i emotional yesterday, i think i was. I was really emotional in a moment that really no one saw. As the pope and i were getting ready to exit the building, we found ourselves alone, and the pope grabbed my left arm and said some very kind words to me about my commitment to kids and education. The pope puts his arm around me and pulls me to him and said, please pray for me. Well, who am i to pray for the pope but did i. Reporter if it wasnt the pope, then what was it . Speaker boehner listen, its not about the vote. There was no doubt whether i could survive the vote. I dont want my members to have to go through this. I certainly dont want the institution to go through this. Especially when i knew i was i was thinking about walking out the door anyway. So its the right time to do it and frankly i am entirely comfortable doing it. Reporter mr. Speaker, i heard you say before that a leader who doesnt have anybody following him is a guy taking a walk. Speaker boehner thats right. I have plenty of people following me. But this turmoil thats been churning now for a couple months is not good for the members and its not good for the institution. And if i wasnt planning on leaving here soon, i can tell you i would not have done this. Reporter if i may continue, there are people who are on the right in your caucus and even outside of the institution who have been wanting you to step down for sometime who feel they have a victory today, who feel you were pushed out. Speaker boehner no. The members im glad i made this announcement at the conference with all my republican colleagues because it was a very good moment to help kind of rebuild the team. Listen, i feel good about what ive done. I know that i every day try to do the right things for the right reasons and try to do the right thing for the country. Reporter mr. Speaker, how can this not be a moment for turmoil . You wanted to leave two years ago. You said it would keep the house in turmoil. Theres going to be Speaker Boehner well, im im going to be here for another five weeks. Im not going to leave, not going to sit around here and do nothing for the next 30 days. Theres a lot of work that needs to be done. I plan on getting it as much as i can before i exit. Reporter does it make it easier to make tougher decisions, maybe relying on democrats to keep the government open . Speaker boehner no. Im going to make the same decisions i would have made regardless of this. Reporter youve made no secret of your frustration that some members of the far right and some outside groups used words like knuckle head and some other words you cant use on television Speaker Boehner probably. Reporter did you just have enough . Speaker boehner i wouldnt describe it as having enough. Thats not it at all. When you are the speaker of the house, youre number one responsibility is to the institution. And having a vote like this in the institution, i dont think is very healthy. And so ive done everything i can over my term as speaker to strengthen the institution. And frankly my move today is another step in that effort to strengthen the institution. Reporter wont the next speaker face the same thing . Speaker boehner hopefully not. Reporter thats my question, mr. Speaker. How will washington be different because you leave this institution . What should people watching this expect the house and congress to do Going Forward if youre not here . Speaker boehner well, if we if the Congress Stays focused on the American Peoples priorities, there will be no problem at all. And while we have differences between democrats and republicans, the goal here as one of the leaders is to find the common ground. Listen, i talked to president bush and president obama this morning. I talked to all my legislative leaders who i have a very Good Relationship with all of them. At the end of the day, the leaders will have to be able to work with each other, trust each other to find the common ground, to get things done. With each other, trust each other, to find the common ground, to get things done. And so the Congress Stays focused on what is important to the American People, theyre going theyll get along just fine. Can you tell us how your conference reacted to the news . Speaker boehner id say they were shocked. Can you elaborate a little more . Maybe how the leadership reacted . Speaker boehner i told mr. Mccarthy about two minutes before i spoke what i was going to do. He didnt believe it. I said, you Better Believe me. Should mccarthy be the next speaker . Speaker boehner im not going to be here to vote on the next speaker, thats up to the members. Having said that, i think Kevin Mccarthy would make an excellent speaker. Who is the first person you told and what did they say . Speaker boehner i told my wife. What did she say . Speaker boehner good. I told my my chief of staff and i talked late yesterday. I told him i was thinking that today might be the day. And i told him id sleep on it system of before i went to sleep, i told my wife, i said i might make an announcement tomorrow. What do you mean, what kind of announcement . Well, its time to go. So this morning i woke up and went up to starbucks and got my coffee, read, walks up to petes diner, saw everybody at petes and got home and thought, yeah, i think todays the day. So my senior staff was having a meeting at 8 45, i kind of walked in before i opened the house and told them, this is the day. Its going to happen someday, why not today . Do you know when the next election might be held . Speaker boehner no. What advice would you give Kevin Mccarthy to avoid the same pitfalls you had . Speaker boehner id tell kevin, if hes the next speaker, that his number one obligation is the institution. Nobody else has an obligation like that. Id tell him the same thing i told you. Do the right thing every day, for the right reasons and the right things will happen you all know me, my colleagues know me. Im always straight with them. They may not like the answer they give but theyll get an honest answer every single time they come to my office. Its an easy way for me to do my job. You originally planned this announcement on your birthday. If it wasnt the pope, what factor weighed on your decision to do it now . Speaker boehner just stuff i read about in the paper, you know, its i really dont want the institution hurt and i dont want my colleagues hurt. I dont want to put my colleagues through all this. For what . What will you miss . Speaker boehner what will i miss . Of course, all of you. I dont know what im going to miss because i havent missed it yet. Ill certainly miss the camaraderie of the house. Let me tell you another story. That was really kind of interesting. Maxine waters and i, democrat from southern california, came here 25 years ago in the same class. Now, you know, theres nothing about my politics and Maxine Waters politics thats even anywhere close but yesterday about 5 30 she called my office. I got a note she called so i called her back. And she said, ive watched you for 25 years here, we came here together, ive watched your career. And i watched you today and i just want to tell you something. Im read im really proud of you. Listen, ive got the best relationships on both sides of the aisle because i treat People Fairly and treat them honestly and im going to miss, certainly im going to miss my colleagues. Going back to the theme of trying to take someone out of the house and stabilize the institution, how do you think that it will become more stable . Several republicans i talked to today said they dont think a new speaker will mean any new outcome. So how could it become more stable . Speaker boehner as i mentioned earlier, the fact that i did this with my colleagues this morning, then we proceeded to have an hour and a half conversation, i thought was a unifying moment. And between that and the popes call for living by the golden rule yesterday, hope springs eternal. Talk about what you think your legacy is, your accomplishments and what are you going to do first . Speaker boehner i was never in the legacy business. You all heard me say it, im a regular guy with a big job. I never thought id be in congress, much less ever be speaker. But people know me as being fair, being honest, being straightforward. And trying to do the right thing every day on behalf of the country. I dont need any more than that. Speaker boehner, you seem very relieved. Speaker boehner zipp a dee doo dah what are your plans, also, have you spoken to Speaker Boehner when please exit from the back. Announcer reaction to this because announcement came from members of his party, the president , senate leadership, and some republican president ial candidates. The honor of john boehner this morning. To the idiocyast of those in our party who seek to divide us. [inaudible] i will let the speaker answer that question. It was emotional for a lot of people but i think everyone hopefully recognized the honor of john boehner this morning. We heard along period of up applause, wasf that after he made the announcement . It was. I can hear that you are upset, tell us why. It is just an emotional moment. Party whothose in our continue to insist on shutting down the party and they can claim a small victory today. Remarkable person and we need to recognize that today. Boehner said he didnt want it to be be a issue. Do you think this will move the Party Forward or do you think they will unite now . Mr. Jolly john boehner has removed himself as the issue facing our party so we need to have a family conversation within our conference in the next four weeks to decide what to do next. Do you expect a shutdown . Mr. Jolly i absolutely hope not. I think with the speakers decision, the odds of us shutting down are much less likely. And why is that . Mr. Jolly because the shutdown caucus has a small victory and they can move forward saying theres perhaps a bigger battle they can fight in the coming weeks. Do you think thats why the speaker is stepping down, to avoid a shutdown . Mr. Jolly you have to speak to him. I cant speak to his intent. Look, its a difficult its a difficult conference to manage. It is the largest majority since the 1920s. It has an undercurrent of some people at the extreme right of our party that have a sufficient voting block, that are always going to have the capacity to put some pressure on the outcomes in our conference. So, again, its a very difficult conference to manage but i think hes done it very well. Will the next speaker have an easier time . Wont the next House Speaker have the same constraints . Mr. Womack i believe the next person in line, whomever that is, is going to face the same difficult task of keeping a very broad conference together. I think thats going to be the case. You can change the faces and the names and the leadership chairs, but the pressures are still going to remain the same. Do conservatives understand that . Mr. Womack i think so. I think everybody in our conference understands that. Weve had a lot of very serious family meetings over the last few years. And we understand what divides us as a conference. I wish we had a little better feeling for how if we were more united what better things, more accomplishments we could achieve as a body. So anyway, thank you. This is a condition of his own making right here. And so you dont know who you would want to be the next speaker at this point . Mr. Massie im going to listen to what the candidates have to say and whether they understand how this republic is supposed to work and whether they respect the fact there are 435 members here that each represents 750,000 constituents. And why do you think the conditions were right to push boehner out of office . Mr. Massie im not quite sure what you mean. Theres a lot of pressure on boehner. Why do you think this was a moment where he said he had enough . Mr. Massie you know, we just came back from an august recess, five weeks of town halls and the American People spoke. And they can see through whats happening out here. Its a farce, a theater. The American People are tired of it. The American People said, stop it, and everybody heard that at their town hall. I think members related that to the speaker when they returned after their town hall. I think its not accidental that the timing happened after we returned from a recess, where people got in touch with their constituents. Is there going to be a Government Shutdown . Mr. Massie i dont know what the president has planned. Do you think you can put a clean bill on the floor . Mr. Massie he said he is. And is he leaving congress at the end of october . Mr. Massie thats what i understood. Do you think that will make things better up here . Mr. Massie depends if the next speaker respects the grievances that are in the motion to vacate. So youre still going ahead with the vote . What im hearing is they are ready for a change in washington. The base of the party has asked for this change for two to three years and its happening. Well see what will come out of conservatives. Do you expect Speaker Mccarthy to mr. Huelskamp i wont speak to that its a matter of conservatives working together as a team. When we decide who well work for and hopefully get elected that will be made a decision as a whole, not one at a time. What other possibilities are out there . What other members could be elected speaker . Mr. Huelskamp i think 200 have that in their mind. I heard im not nominated. I was not there at the beginning of the meeting. This idea that happened in 2010. When i first came up here in 2010, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, there wasnt competition. Hopefully there will be competition. If people move well see. Do you expect the whole leadership to be shut down . Mr. Huelskamp it depends. I do not know what to expect. I think house conservatives will be sitting down shortly. Weve had many of these discussions for 2. 5 years. Ive been involved in many of those. A lot of them i have not. What happened with eric cantor in five days they had that locked up once he lost, i dont think that will happen this time. There is dissatisfaction up and down. What was the mood in the room . Mr. Huelskamp people said they were shocked and stunned, including other leaders claimed they didnt know before it was announced. Hes had a Long Distinguished Service on lo of differen