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Drew Angerer/Bloomberg News

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s surprise decision to drop out of the race for House speaker left Republicans in turmoil and raised questions about whether Congress can meet a series of fiscal deadlines before the end of the year — including highway funding set to expire Oct. 29. McCarthy had said he would work to approve a six-year funding plan.

McCarthy told members at a closed-door meeting Oct. 8 that he wasn’t the right person to unite the caucus, and as the day wore on, there was no obvious candidate emerging to replace outgoing House Speaker John Boehner.

Republicans are in “complete disarray,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas).

Talk emerged of a so-called caretaker speaker, who could hold the job through the November 2016 congressional elections, but Republicans were struggling Oct. 8 to find a volunteer. The deepening chaos now threatens lawmakers’ ability to raise the debt ceiling by a Nov. 5 deadline and pass a government spending bill to avoid a shutdown after Dec. 11.

“It makes it more difficult and time is of the essence,” said Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers of Kentucky.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan was under pressure from some lawmakers to put himself forward as a candidate for speaker, according to a leadership aide who spoke on condition of anonymity. Ryan canceled fundraisers he had scheduled for the next two days, another aide said. Earlier Oct. 8, he had said he wouldn’t run for speaker.

McCarthy’s decision underscored internal party divisions that have built up in recent years as anti-government Tea Party-backed Republicans began entering Congress.

Rogers said he wouldn’t run for speaker. Two others who were already seeking the post, Dan Webster of Florida and Jason Chaffetz of Utah, said they were staying in the race. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) said he would run for the job.

Some lawmakers suggested that an interim speaker may emerge from the ranks of members who aren’t seeking re-election next year.

A Republican vote to nominate a new speaker that was set for Oct. 8 was postponed by Boehner at McCarthy’s suggestion. The full House was scheduled to vote for speaker Oct. 29. Boehner said in a statement he will stay on as speaker until a new one is elected. Boehner loyalist Devin Nunes of California urged the speaker to remain, saying moderates had no immediate alternative.

McCarthy made his surprise announcement at the start of a Republican meeting convened to choose the party’s nominee. As lawmakers settled down, many eating a barbecue lunch, McCarthy strode to the lectern.

“We all thought he was giving his speech,” said Rep. John Fleming (R-La.). Instead, McCarthy told the stunned lawmakers that he didn’t want to be someone who divides the country, and that he wasn’t the right person for the job.

“I’m not the guy,” McCarthy said, according to accounts from lawmakers who were present, including Huelskamp, Fleming and Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania. At that point, Boehner stood up and said the elections were being delayed until a “date unknown.”

“The look of shock across the room was amazing” when McCarthy made his announcement, said Frank Lucas of Oklahoma.

Later, McCarthy told reporters he will stay on as majority leader, the No. 2 House Republican position. “If we are going to unite and be strong we need a new face to help do that,” he said.

One House Republican who didn’t want to be identified so he could speak candidly said a final straw may have been a demand by members of the Freedom Caucus that one of their own be installed as the new majority leader, the No. 2 House Republican. The lawmaker said they were pushing Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Several lawmakers said that while McCarthy could have won the nomination within the conference he probably wouldn’t have been able to get the 218 votes he needed in the full House.

Huelskamp faulted McCarthy for failing to ask Freedom Caucus members what they needed to support his candidacy. At a candidates’ forum Monday, “he was very specifically non-specific,” Huelskamp said.

“If Congress waits around for the Republican family feud to resolve itself, we’ll risk a government shutdown and defaulting on our national debt,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), said in a statement. “It’s time for the responsible members of the Republican Party to work with Democrats” on a spending deal and to raise the debt limit, he said.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “Somebody among the House Republicans will have to step forward and demonstrate an ability to either tame the forces of that small but vocal group of ideologues or buck up the more mainstream” part of the caucus."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office suggested that Republicans won’t get any Democratic help in resolving who will lead the House.

“It’s up to House Republicans to choose the next speaker,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.