House Speaker John Boehner Resignes, Effective October Ending

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will resign from Congress at the end of October, his office announced Friday.

In a statement, Boehner's office said that he had only planned to serve in Congress until the end of last year, but changed his plans when former Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) lost his seat.

Boehner was facing pressure from conservative Republicans over a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, and there were rumors that those members would try to oust Boehner as speaker.