Steve Scalise withdraws bid for House speaker

In a surprise move Thursday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced that he is withdrawing his name from the race for the vacant House speaker role.

"I just shared with my colleagues that I'm withdrawing my name as a candidate for the speaker designee," Scalise told reporters. 

The Republican conference on Wednesday nominated Scalise for the speaker position, which has sat vacant since California Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a historic vote last week.