After House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy unexpectedly pulled out of the race for Speaker of the House on Thursday, outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner announced he will stick around until a replacement is found. McCarthy's withdrawal surprised the GOP conference, leaving the Republicans in disarray.

Mr. Boehner canceled the elections that had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon to choose the next speaker, and afterward issued a statement saying he’s not going anywhere — for now.

“As I have said previously, I will serve as speaker until the House votes to elect a new speaker,” he said. “We will announce the date for this election at a later date, and I’m confident we will elect a new speaker in the coming weeks.”

There are two candidates still running for Speaker of the House, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut) and Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fl).

He had set an Oct. 29 date for an election in the whole House, which would have chosen his replacement and ushered him into retirement. That could still happen, but with the House scheduled to be on vacation next week and a major hearing with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton slated for the week after, it’s unclear whether such a deadline is likely.

Some were pleased by Boehner's decision to stick around.

“The speaker will continue serving until another candidate can get 218 votes. In the foreseeable future I don’t see any candidate from either party being able to get 218 votes, so I expect the speaker to continue serving,” said Rep. Carlos Curbelo, Florida Republican. “I hope he stays as long as possible.”

“He will continue serving as speaker until the House elects a new speaker. That’s the way the rules work,” Mr. Curbelo said.