During a more than two-hour caucus meeting, Democrats were strongly encouraged to vote to not support Speaker McCarthy as he fights for his job, sources tell ABC News.

"It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. "Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair."

Several Democrats said they don't plan to bail McCarthy out.

"We're not voting in any way that would help save speaker McCarthy," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said.

Vice Chair of House Democratic caucus Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said, "the leadership put out the facts and the caucus heard from a lot of members… we need a functioning government and speaker McCarthy has shown he cannot govern."

A motion to vacate has only ever been voted on once, in 1910, in an effort to boot then-Speaker Joseph Cannon. The effort failed.

In 2015, then-Rep. Mark Meadows filed a resolution to force a vote on then-Speaker John Boehner’s leadership. But because Meadows didn’t introduce it on the House floor, it wasn’t taken up for consideration.

While history shows previous such efforts over the years have always failed -- it's possible this one could succeed.

Read more from ABC News' Tal Axelrod here.

In a closed-door meeting on Tuesday night, McCarthy told fellow Republicans that he will not run again for the speakership, per multiple sources in the room.

He also said that when the next vote comes around for another speaker, Republicans should try to elect that person on the first round -- and if he had to be the sacrifice, so be it. McCarthy thanked those who supported him.

On his way to the party meeting, McCarthy told ABC News' John Parkinson, "Life goes on. You never give up."