Boehner, who rose from bartender’s son to the most powerful man in Congress, was a classic mix of bravado and puddle of tears on Friday during a press conference announcing his decision to step aside at the end of October.

“Last night I started thinking about this, and I woke up. I said my prayers as I always do, and I decided, you know, today’s the day I’m going to do this. As simple as that,” Boehner said, veering from moist eyes to relief to whimsy, breaking into an impromptu rendition of “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” from the Disney movie “Song of the South.”

Boehner, 65, planned to leave Congress at the end of 2014, but returned because of the unexpected electoral defeat of his second-in-command, Eric Cantor. The feeling was that another agonizing round of internal GOP turmoil over his future “would do irreparable damage to the institution,” a Boehner aide said.

As he left the Capitol on Thursday evening, Boehner told two reporters — one from POLITICO and another from The Washington Post — that he had nothing left to accomplish after he brought Pope Francis to the Capitol. When asked whether he was resigning, Boehner laughed before exiting into a waiting SUV with his Capitol Police detail.

Boehner said that his No. 2, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was so shocked when he broke the news to him Friday morning, that Boehner had to tell him “about five times” because he couldn’t believe it.

First elected to the House in 1990, Boehner came into power on the momentum of the 2010 tea party wave. But it was that movement that gave him constant problems. He clashed with the right over the debt limit, government funding, Obamacare and taxes. His tenure will also be remembered for his complicated relationship with President Barack Obama. He and Obama tried — but repeatedly failed — to reach a “grand bargain” on government spending.

But Boehner has had some significant victories, including the landmark trade legislation that Congress passed earlier this year, as well as changes to entitlement programs.

Now that he doesn’t have internal political considerations to weigh, Boehner is certain to push through a government-funding bill next week that funds Planned Parenthood and keeps the government open.

“I have been doing this for 27 years, and this is the most selfless act that I have ever seen,” said Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), who is close with both Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), a former member of leadership who has clashed with Boehner, had similarly kind words.

“In the two years I served at the leadership table both my respect and affection grew for John Boehner,” Hensarling said.

Conservatives — many of them members of the House Freedom Caucus — said they’re already preparing for the vote to replace Boehner.

“He has a long record of distinguished service but it’s time for new leadership,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.). “Conservatives will be working together; it’s not going to be one or two of us, we’re going to make a deal.”

Boehner’s decision, relayed in a closed Republican meeting Friday morning, will indeed set off one of the most intense leadership scrambles in modern congressional GOP politics. Second in line is McCarthy, who is widely expected to serve as the next speaker. But there is serious unrest in the House Republican ranks.

A clutch of conservatives has continuously clashed with establishment Republicans. It takes 218 votes on the House floor to win the speakership, and many GOP insiders believe that McCarthy is the only person who could cobble together a coalition of that size.

Should McCarthy win, it will set off a fierce battle for majority leader. Boehner allies appear to be rallying around McCarthy for speaker already, providing him a hefty base for the internal House Republican Conference election, and a speaker vote on the House floor.

One very formidable Republican is already taking himself out of the contest: Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

“That is a good job for an empty nester,” Ryan said.

The posturing within GOP ranks has been underway for weeks. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana has been laying the groundwork for that battle, as has House Republican Conference Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington. Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry of North Carolina will be favored for House Republican whip.

There are wildcards, however. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), who has recently gained favor with the conservative right, is expected to eye a slot.

Boehner is one in a long line of speakers who have struggled with unrest in their own ranks, perhaps most notably dating back to Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat ousted in 1989 who lamented the “mindless cannibalism” of his colleagues. In the aftermath of Wright’s resignation, hyperpartisanship seemed to take hold, leading to heightened gridlock in Congress that many subsequent speakers have fought to break loose.

As for Boehner, there will be time for his close-knit team of aides to toast his speakership. He is holding a barbecue Sunday in Washington for current and former staff.

Conservatives celebrated Boehner’s departure. “Americans deserve a Congress that fights for opportunity for all and favoritism to none,” Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham said in a statement. “Too often, Speaker Boehner has stood in the way.”

In another sign of the triumphant feeling among conservatives, the crowd at the Values Voter Summit broke into cheers when Sen. Marco Rubio announced that Boehner was stepping down.

President Barack Obama, meanwhile, had kind words for Boehner, despite their often-friction-filled relationship. Obama, speaking at a press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, described Boehner as a “good man” who “has kept his word when he’s made a commitment.

”Boehner understood,” Obama added, that “you don’t get 100 percent of what you want, but you have to work with people who you disagree with, sometimes strongly, in order to do the people’s business.”

At her weekly news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the resignation “seismic” and “a stark indication of the disarray of the House Republicans.”

Pelosi and Boehner had not spoken as of Friday morning, Pelosi said. She had called him around 8:30 a.m. Friday to check in on the latest on the government shutdown fight, but was told he was in a meeting and that he would call back. She found out during a weekly Democratic Caucus meeting, as phones lit up with the news of the resignation.

Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.