Speaker of the US House John Boehner will resign from his leadership position and give up his seat at the end of October.
Mr Boehner has been under pressure from the conservative wing of his party, and in particular over government funding for Planned Parenthood.
Aides say the speaker had planned to resign last year.
The announcement comes one day after the speaker hosted Pope Francis for a major address to the US Congress.
Mr Boehner is expected to make a public announcement at 10:00 local time (15:00 BST).
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