Cantor, Ex-Majority Leader, Is Planning Early Exit From House

Representative Eric Cantor, the Virginia Republican whose last day as House majority leader was Thursday, said on Friday that he would resign his seat effective Aug. 18 in hopes that his successor will be able to participate in the lame-duck session after the November elections.

Mr. Cantor, 51, made the announcement in an op-ed article published on The Richmond Times-Dispatch website.

He lost the Republican primary in his Northern Virginia district in June