Source: BBCNews
Republican Kevin McCarthy has dropped out of the race to be speaker of the US House of Representatives.
He told colleagues at the start of a closed meeting on Thursday that he was not the right person for the job.
Just hours before votes were due to be cast, the news has left the race to succeed John Boehner in disarray. The election has now been postponed.
Mr McCarthy was considered the favourite to take over from Mr Boehner, who quit amid party tensions.
The speaker is the third in line to the presidency and is in charge of the lower chamber of Congress.
"If we are going to unite and be strong, we need a new face to do that," said Mr McCarthy on Thursday following his announcement.
"I feel good about the decision."
He said he wants the Republican Party to be "100%" united in backing a new speaker of the House.