clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Eric Cantor will leave Congress early

Eric Cantor after his farewell address, July 31.
Eric Cantor after his farewell address, July 31.
Bill Clark, CQ-Roll Call / Getty
Andrew Prokop is a senior politics correspondent at Vox, covering the White House, elections, and political scandals and investigations. He’s worked at Vox since the site’s launch in 2014, and before that, he worked as a research assistant at the New Yorker’s Washington, DC, bureau.

Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who lost his primary this year in a shocking upset, said Thursday that he would resign his Congressional seat this August rather than serving out his term, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Cantor had stepped down as Majority Leader earlier this week, and was replaced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). He hadn't previously mentioned any plans to leave Congress early, and didn't specify why he was doing so in a Friday op-ed about the decision.

But recently, Politico's Mike Allen wrote that Cantor "is expected to take a New York finance job as part of a lucrative new life." (Cantor's aides emphasized to Allen nothing was decided.)

Cantor has endorsed Dave Brat, who defeated him in the primary. Check out Vox's coverage of Cantor's loss here. And you can watch Cantor's farewell address to the House, delivered Thursday, below:

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for Vox Recommends

Get curated picks of the best Vox journalism to read, watch, and listen to every week, from our editors.