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Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has formally submitted his resignation from Congress, ending the Republican lawmaker's near 20-year political career. His resignation letter was read to lawmakers Tuesday by House Reading Clerk Tylease Alli, who said McCarthy will step down as the representative of California's District 20 on Dec. 31.
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"It has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the great people and communities of Kern, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Tulare, Fresno and Kings counties over the past 17 years and especially my hometown of Baker Field and the Central Valley of the Great State of California," McCarthy said in the resignation letter read by Alli.
The announcement comes after McCarthy said earlier this month that he will resign from his House seat by year's end in the wake of becoming the first speaker in history to be removed by a House vote.
McCarthy became House speaker in January after the Republicans retook the chamber of Congress. But he was only handed the gavel following 15 rounds of voting, which highlighted the tensions present within the party.
He gained the position only after courting enough votes by making concessions to far-right Republicans -- a move that would ultimately see him unseated.
Among the compromises was the reinstatement of a procedure that permits for a sole House member to call a vote to vacate, which Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., used when McCarthy made a deal with the Democratic Party to prevent a government shut down by passing bipartisan legislation in the fall.
McCarthy held the title of House speaker for only 269 days, which is the third shortest tenure in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives.
He has since been succeeded by Rep Mike Johnson, R-La.
