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Cantor Endorses McCarthy to Take His Place as Majority Leader
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. arrives to meet with fellow Republicans on the day after his defeat in the Virginia primary at the hands of tea party challenger David Brat, Wednesday, June 11, 2014, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Repudiated at the polls, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor intends to resign his leadership post at the end of next month, officials said Wednesday, clearing the way for a potentially disruptive Republican shake-up just before midterm elections with control of Congress at stake. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Cantor Endorses McCarthy to Take His Place as Majority Leader

"If my dear friend and colleague Kevin McCarthy does decide to run, I think he'd make an outstanding majority leader."

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Wednesday endorsed House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to replace him as House majority leader, less than a day after Cantor's surprising primary loss to a relatively unknown Republican challenger.

Cantor made his endorsement just minutes after telling House Republicans that he would step down from his leadership position at the end of July. GOP leaders have already set up a June 19 election to replace Cantor.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. told Republicans Wednesday that he would step down from his leadership post, and endorsed Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as his replacement. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"I don't know who it is that will actually be running," Cantor told reporters. "I can tell you that if my dear friend and colleague Kevin McCarthy does decide to run, I think he'd make an outstanding majority leader, and I will be backing him with my full support."

GOP Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has already said she will not run for Cantor's spot on the leadership team, but House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) is expected to run.

Cantor used the Wednesday briefing to defend his record as majority leader, and said he helped the House reduce spending dramatically. "We forced a reduction of spending in Washington in consecutive years for the first time since the Korean War," he said.

He also rejected the criticism that nothing gets done in Washington, and blamed the Democratic Senate for ignoring dozens of House bills aimed at creating jobs.

"There's a stack of bills sitting in the Senate that shows House Republicans do get things done," he said.

But Cantor declined to answer several questions about why he lost to newcomer David Brat, including whether he was in Washington too much or whether his position on immigration hurt him in the race. "I'm going to leave the political analysis to y'all," he repeated a few times.

He also declined to say what he would be doing next. "That is probably between my wife and me," he said.

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