Kevin McCarthy is out as Speaker of the House making him the first person to be removed from the position in history. His tenure was exceedingly short, running just over nine months. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) led the charge, filing a motion to vacate that picked up just enough votes to succeed after all members of the Democrat caucus joined his effort.

Once his ouster happened, one obvious question remained: What now?

No one seems to have an answer to that, but according to breaking reports, we now know that McCarthy will not be running again. That's a pretty shocking development.

BREAKING NEWS -- KEVIN MCCARTHY will not run for speaker again.

He is about to make the announcement in closed GOP meeting

w @bresreports

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 3, 2023

If things weren't already chaotic enough, this throws things into further turmoil. The assumption was that McCarthy would run again and try to offer some concessions to secure the votes of some of those who voted against him. With that off the table, there's absolutely no easy path forward for Republicans.

Who will even run? Jim Jordan is a name you hear a lot, but he doesn't want the job. Steve Scalise is currently battling cancer. Elise Stefanik likely wouldn't run out of loyalty to McCarthy, and she's got a fairly liberal voting record anyway. 

Why does no one want the job, you might be asking? It's simple. It's a thankless position where you get all the blame while having to constantly fight various factions of your own caucus. It's also heavily predicated on fundraising prowess, something that very few representatives enjoy or are good at.

That's the problem with getting rid of McCarthy. It's all fun and games spouting names off on social media, but there has to be someone who actually wants the job. Further, that person has to be able to unite the caucus and garner the votes necessary to become Speaker. Why is the Speaker typically someone who isn't a conservative firebrand? Because your average conservative firebrand can't get enough votes to win the position. 

I'm not saying that's a good thing, but when you only have a four-seat majority, that's the reality with which you have to operate. Chaos is assured at this point. 

As to McCarthy's decision, it's probably the right one. Why would he want to be the Speaker at this point? There's no upside to it. Better to walk away and let those who broke it try to fix it.