After 44 days of turmoil, UK PM Liz Truss has resigned, setting up a leadership race to replace her in 10 Downing Street.
Truss announced her resignation Thu. after 100+ Conservative MPs penned letters of no confidence in Truss. (NBC)
Where did it all go wrong? Truss's tenure was thrown into chaos after she introduced her first budget plan in Sept..
Truss's budget—which included unfunded tax cuts—plunged the pound, nearly collapsing UK pension funds. (CNN)
Truss's budget also led to a wave of departures from her Cabinet: half of her senior ministers left in a week. (WaPo)
Truss's resignation became inevitable: the Daily Star asked its readers whether Truss would outlast a head of lettuce.
Truss made history with her resignation Thu.: she is the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history at 44 days. (BBC)
With Truss out, the Conservative Party will now vote (again!) to choose its next leader by Oct. 28. (WaPo)
Who will replace her? Former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who lost to Truss in Sept.'s leadership contest, is a top contender.
Sunak won the final ballot among Conservative MPs with 137 votes. Truss trailed Sunak with 113 votes. (BBC)
Despite being ousted in July, Truss's predecessor Boris Johnson could make a comeback as prime minister.
International trade minister James Duddridge tweeted Thu.: "I hope you enjoyed your holiday boss. Time to come back."
Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt, another familiar face from July's leadership race, is also a contender.
Mordaunt was eliminated in the fifth round of voting in last summer's race with 105 votes from Conservative MPs. (BBC)
Defense Sec. Ben Wallace was a favorite to succeed Johnson last summer: he led a July Conservative Home poll with 16%.