Kevin McCarthy is running to succeed Boehner as speaker

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, announced Monday that he is officially running to succeed House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, when Boehner retires next month.

"We have made real progress towards shrinking an overgrown federal government and reforming our broken entitlement system. But our work is far from done. We can't ignore the differences that exist, but we can and must heal the divisions in our conference with work, time, and trust. That is why I have decided to run for Speaker of the House and graciously ask for your support," McCarthy wrote in a letter to his Republican colleagues.

John Boehner: Why I quit the speakership

He added, "I know that the People's House works best when the leadership you elect listens to members and respects the legislative process entrusted to committees." But he also said that he wants the House Republican majority to be "much closer to the people they represent."

McCarthy said he reached out to each members of the Republican conference over the weekend to seek their opinions.

Boehner unexpectedly announced his resignation Friday morning, just one day after Pope Francis' historic speech to Congress. He said he had always planned to resign in November, but decided to move up the timeline because of the "turmoil that's been churning now" - a reference to the frequent clashes between the most conservative members of the conference and the Republican leadership.

Republicans elect California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House Majority Leader

McCarthy has had a lightning-quick rise through the Republican leadership, becoming majority leader after his predecessor, former Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, suffered a stunning primary defeat to a conservative challenger. Prior to that, he was the House majority whip. He was elected to Congress in 2006 after serving in the California Assembly.

McCarthy so far has just one challenger for the job, Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Florida. Republicans are scheduled to meet late Tuesday afternoon to discuss the leadership elections. At least two members, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, and Rep. Tom Price, R-Georgia, are running to replace McCarthy as House Majority Leader. On Monday, Price picked up an endorsement from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin.

Earlier Monday, McCarthy laid aside discussions about the speakership in order to expand on his foreign policy principles in a speech in Washington, D.C. He advocated a more muscular foreign policy and criticized the Obama administration for "absence of leadership," saying, "Wherever we look, the world is less safe and less secure because America is less engaged."

McCarthy cited the examples of Lincoln and Reagan, whose portraits hang in his office, to promote the ideas of American exceptionalism and the importance of American leadership in shaping world events. He quoted Lincoln calling America "the last best hope of Earth" and praised Reagan's tough stance towards the Soviet Union.

"The Reagan doctrine worked because the Soviets knew there was not an inch of soil we would concede to the spread of communism, or a dollar we wouldn't spend to spread freedom," he said.

McCarthy called for a no-fly zone in northern Syria to protect rebels fighting Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and said the U.S. should consider putting special forces personnel on the ground in Iraq to coordinate airstrikes with the Iraqi army and Kurdish fighting units. He also proposed that the U.S. provide arms to the Ukrainian military to aid their fight against Russian-backed separatists.

The majority leader also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and said that the U.S. should stop "letting Putin set the agenda. Stop turning a blind eye to Russian aggression." He criticized the president's decision to meet with Putin and instead called for more sanctions targeting Putin, who spoke to the United Nations General Assembly shortly before McCarthy's speech.

McCarthy repeated his criticism for the Iran nuclear deal, saying, "This agreement fails to achieve what we all want: safety, security, and stability in the Middle East and across the world. Instead, a nuclear-armed Iran will bring more terror, more war, and more destruction."

He also highlighted his extensive foreign travel in the last four years, noting that he's visited and met with foreign leaders in Israel, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

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