No Israeli-Gaza Peace in Sight

MONDAY 11/6/23

UPDATE: Israel’s targeting process is “shrouded” in mystery, even as Gaza’s death toll “soars” toward 10,000, The Washington Post reports Monday. Israeli officials “insist that each strike is subject to legal approval, experts say the rules of engagement, which are classified, appears to include a higher threshold for civilian casualties than in previous levels of fighting.” [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/05/israel-strike-targets-gaza-civilians-hamas/] (Subscription required.)

Note: Reporters are not allowed to enter Gaza during the war.

Last Friday in Israel and then again on Saturday in Jordan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters he had advised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on how to take “concrete steps” to minimize civilian deaths in Israel’s counter-attack against Hamas in Gaza, The New York Times reported Sunday. Chief among the recommendations is that Israel revert to smaller bombs that weigh 250 pounds rather than the 1,000- to 2,000-pound bombs that have been used to target Hamas fighters and collapse their underground tunnels, amidst a dense civilian population.

Hamas’ October 7 attack, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage, has been widely condemned. But the health ministry for Hamas-controlled Gaza reports that more than 9,400 people have been killed in Israel’s counterattack, according to the Times, and the counterattack has drawn severe criticism and sympathy for Palestinian civilians, many of whom are seen as having had Hamas forced upon them.

The Israel Defense Force’s response has led to multiple protests around the world, including from liberal Jews long opposed to Netanyahu’s rule and his hard-line stance preventing movement toward the “two-state solution” that would produce a Palestinian homeland in the region.

Meanwhile, a surge in anti-Semitic attacks and vandalism complicates the anti-Netanyahu arguments. As of this writing, the Israeli Defense Force under Netanyahu shows no sign of slowing up. After 75 years of failed treaties and agreements, even prospects for a short-term cease-fire appear elusive.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Trump, Anti-Trump

Iowa’s Republican governor Kim Reynolds (above) is set to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination at a Des Moines rally Monday, sources have confirmed to the Des Moines Register. In an October 25 call with reporters, DeSantis said an endorsement from Reynolds, who was a MAGA acolyte during the Trump administration, would be a “huge get” for his (flagging, financially struggling) presidential campaign.

Donald J. Trump’s reaction was entirely predictable. On his Truth Social outlet, Trump wrote Reynolds’ endorsement “will be the end of her political career,” according to the Register. “If and when Kim Reynolds of Iowa endorses Ron DeSanctimonious, who is absolutely dying in the polls in Iowa and Nationwide (sic), it will be the end of her political career in that MAGA would never support her again, just as MAGA will never support DeSanctimonious again.”

Not-Florida man: Meanwhile, at the Florida Republican Party’s Freedom Summit in Kissimmee, Saturday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie responded to boos as he walked on the stage, saying “Now look, every one of those boos, every one of those catcalls, every one of those yells will not solve one problem we face in this country. Your anger against the truth is reprehensible.” (The Hill.)

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Democratic Divide Over Israel-Gaza

Hamas’ October 7 attack on Tel Aviv and Israel’s aggressive military response is dividing the Democratic Party, where progressives are more likely than moderates to criticize Israel for the toll on Palestinian civilians.

Example: Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who has launched a quixotic primary challenge to President Biden, “faced screaming and profanity from voters” over his response to a question about the issue at his first of 119 planned town halls, at the Rex Theater in Manchester, New Hampshire where the only Black woman in the crowd asked whether he supports an Israeli ceasefire, according to The Washington Post.

“I’m going to answer each of your questions,” Phillips replied, “but I have to tell you, I took note that you didn’t mention – how do you feel about the Israeli babies? And moms and dads and grandmas and hostages in Gaza who were brutally murdered? …”

He interrupted the woman, Atong Chan, before she could respond; “I am completely empathetic to them.” Others in the crowd accused Phillips of “gaslighting” Chan before three campaign staffers removed her from the theater.

At one point in the town hall, WaPo reports, Phillips mentioned his friendship with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), as “my Palestinian sister … I am her Jewish brother.”

But Omar has been the target of a primary campaign for the 2024 elections at least since she boycotted Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s speech to a joint session of Congress last summer. The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, a national PAC, “has put Omar in its sights because of her stance on Israel,” MINNPOST reported in September.

This week, Forbes reported that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman’s political advisor, Dmitri Melhorn, has approached the Mainstream Democrats PAC, which supports centrist candidates, to challenge Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for “her inability to condemn October 7.”

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…meanwhile…

FRIDAY 11/3/23

The Labor Department counts 150,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in October, well below the average of 250,000 per month for the previous 12 months. The unemployment rate rose by 0.5 points to 3.9%, marking the 21^st month below 4%, which is traditionally considered ‘full employment.’ Newly added jobs were tempered by labor strikes last month, primarily the UAW action against the Detroit Three automakers, with whom the union has reached tentative agreements. Productivity was up 4.7%, however, which lowered unit labor cost by 0.8%. Job gains were noted particularly for health care, government, and social services.

Deadly Deadlock – Continued war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is, at this point, impossible to resolve. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel Friday for his second visit since October 7 to push the nation's leaders to take “humanitarian pauses” to help the flow of aid to Palestinians in Gaza and to facilitate the release of hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu Friday said there will be no ceasefire until the hostages are released.

Also on Friday, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah “stopped short” of saying his powerful militia has joined the Israel-Hamas war but added that the fighting with Israel on the Lebananon-Israeli border would “not be limited,” The Guardian reports.

•••

SBF Guilty – After five hours of deliberations, a jury found ex-cryptocurrency king Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of each of the seven criminal charges, including fraud, that he faced in connection with FTX and Alameda Research, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. Prosecution presented a solid case with SBF’s former friends and colleagues testifying against him in the four-week trial, including former girlfriend and Alameda Research chief Caroline Ellison and co-founder of FTX and Alameda, Gary Wang.

Wang had pleaded guilty on separate charges and agreed to co-operate with prosecutors in the SBF case.

Bankman-Fried, 31, is scheduled to be sentenced next March and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, NPR says, though he is also likely to appeal the conviction.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Contrast Senate GOP, House GOP

Fed up with Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) single-handed blocking of nearly 400 Pentagon appointments over a policy that allows military to travel to states that allow abortions, Senate Republicans joined Democrats to individually confirm three top military officers (per the AP).

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pushing for at least nine Republicans to join his caucus next week for a rules change that would remove a single senator’s ability to deny confirmation of a block of military officers. It is unclear whether Senate Republicans are willing to go along with the rules change, though several prominent members of the GOP caucus criticized Tuberville for damaging U.S. military strength.

The Senate confirmed Thursday Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (for which she becomes the first female to serve), Gen. David Arvin as chief of staff for the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to serve as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lauded the confirmations, but said, “We still have more than 370 superbly qualified leaders who have seen their nominations unnecessarily stalled.”

Contrast Senate Republicans with House Republicans, who on Wednesday voted down a resolution introduced by New York GOP members to expel Rep. George Santos (R-NY) (The Guardian). The previous Friday, Santos pleaded not guilty to a 23-count federal indictment that accuses the freshman representative of laundering funds to pay for personal expenses, illegally receiving unemployment benefits and charging donors’ checking accounts without their consent, among other charges.

The House vote rejecting his expulsion, which would have made him only the sixth such rep in the nation’s history (including three removed for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War) preserves the GOP’s 221-212 House majority.

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Menendez Pleads Not Guilty

UPDATE -- Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) pleaded not guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein for federal charges of conspiring to work as an agent of the Egyptian government, while serving the Senate. Menendez is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (The Washington Post).

[CORRECTION: An earlier edition of this post misstated Sen. Menendez's congressional title.]

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was due to be arraigned in federal court in New York Monday on new charges that he conspired to act as a foreign agent for Egypt by accepting bribes from January 2018 to at least June 2022, UPI News reports. He is expected to plead not guilty. Several of his fellow House Democrats have called on him to step down from Congress.

Menendez’s wife, Nadine and businessman Wael Hana last week entered pleas of not guilty in the case last week.

•••

House Democrats will again nominate their minority leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, when voting for the next speaker commences this week. He will receive all his caucus' votes, which is five votes short of a win. Are any of the nine Republicans vying for the speaker's gavel, as described in the center column, worthy of a deal with Democrats to be elected to the post? If you lean left/liberal, let us know your thoughts in the Comment section below. Or email editors@thehustings.news and indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

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MAGA Gets its House Speaker

(Johnson)

Analysis by Todd Lassa

The House MAGA club, which amounts to a large minority of that chamber, has managed to get all the chamber’s Republicans make Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) the 56^th speaker. The first-round vote was 220-209. Indications are the MAGA club makes up somewhere between 147 and a bit less than 200 of the House GOP caucus.

One popular early take is that Johnson snuck in as an unknown who has put forth no significant legislation since he was first elected to the House in 2016. Except, he was a member of Donald J. Trump’s congressional defense team in the first of his impeachment trials – the one about the “perfect phone call” with then-newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – alongside 56^th House speaker candidate No. 3, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

Johnson also authored an amicus brief “at Trump’s behest in a controversial 2020 case” filed by the Texas attorney general, that sought to overturn the presidential election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (per Forbes). Johnson recruited 125 fellow Republicans to co-sign, so these reps presumably know something about him.

In his first press conference Wednesday, ABC News congressional correspondent Rachel Scott tried to ask; “You led the effort to overturn the 2020 election results, do you …” and was booed by other Republicans and told to go away, Newsweek reports. Scott also tried to ask Johnson if he would support more aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Could moderate Republicans who previously torpedoed Jordan’s campaign for the job use a motion to vacate to get rid of Johnson over aid to Ukraine and Israel? After Jordan’s defeat, ex-President Trump “killed” moderate Republican speaker candidate Tom Emmer’s bid by getting on the phone with House members after posting on Truth Social that the representative from Minnesota is “totally out-of-touch with Republican voters” and a “globalist RINO” (per Politico).

So it went back-and-forth until Johnson emerged as some sort of empty-suited compromise. House Republicans were just too weary to ask questions about who he is, NPR’s All Things Considered reported, and went along with the MAGA club of barely 200 members to vote him in. What happens to him after a budget deal or extension is, at this point, anyone’s guess.

A news feature on Johnson in a 2016 issue of The Louisiana Baptism Message offers these insights: “I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a life-long conservative, constitutional law attorney and a small business owner in that order.”

A take from the other side is that he is “the most important architect of Electoral College objections,” according to Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), per the BBC.

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Speaker Race is On Again

TUESDAY 10/24/23

UPDATE -- House Republicans begin their private-vote process to nominate a new speaker from eight candidates vying for the position. That's down from nine, as Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania has dropped out (The Washington Post). Scroll down for the full list. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) (above) is considered the frontrunner among Republicans.

With eight Republican candidates remaining, we could be in for another long round before the House of Representatives can get back to work, address a proposal for U.S. aid for Israel and Ukraine, and avoid a government shutdown by the middle of November. After the GOP brings its nominee to the House floor, the full chamber will vote. Democrats will nominate their minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York once again. A nominee needs 217 House votes to become speaker.

NOTE: In the face of all this drama behind the speaker's race, The Hustings will be off for the rest of the week. Do not let that stop you from submitting your comments on this issue or any other recent issues, with an email to editors@thehustings.news.

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MONDAY 10/23/23

After Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) ended his bid to become speaker of the House last Friday following his third loss (with a vote total that continued to sink) House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, of New York gave intended candidates until noon Eastern Sunday to declare. Of the nine who declared, all are members of the right-wing Republican Study Committee, but only two voted to certify the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, according to The Washington Post.

They are …

•Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the House Majority Whip. He has the support of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, he is “head and shoulders above all those who want to run.” (Does that mean he has no chance?)

•Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA).

The others are …

•Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

•Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), previous chair of the House Rules Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

•Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), the only Black Republican speaker candidate, a staunch Trump ally who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee.

•Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general who chairs the House Armed Services subcommittee on intelligence and special operations.

•Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), an attorney and former radio host and close Trump ally who served on the former president’s legal defense team during his two impeachment trials.

•Rep. Dan Menser (R-PA), one of more than 120 House Republicans who in December 2020 signed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit that would have invalidated the presidential election results in four states, including his own. He is on the moderate Problem Solvers Caucus as well as the not-so-moderate Main Street Republicans and Republican Study Committee.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Cheney Won’t Rule Out Presidential Run

Former Wyoming Republican congresswoman and vice chairwoman of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol, Liz Cheney, did not rule out a 2024 presidential bid, in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday.

If Donald J. Trump is elected to a second term, “all of the things he attempted to do, but was stopped by doing by the responsible people around him at the Department of Justice and the White House counsel’s office, he will do. There will be guardrails. And everyone has been warned,” Cheney told SoTU’s Jake Tapper.

Asked whether Cheney would vote for President Biden over Trump, Cheney demurred, but said she would spend “the next year between now and the election to elect serious, sane people” of both parties. “We don’t want a situation where the election is thrown into the House of Representatives.”

•••

Do you like any of the nine Republican candidates for House speaker? Voice your opinion in the Comment section below, or email us at editors@thehustings.news and please, indicate your political leanings -- right/conservative or left/liberal -- in the subject line.

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What’s Left

If you lean liberal, enter your comments on President Biden's Oval Office address in the Comments section of this column. Or you may email editors@thehustings.news and indicate your political leaning in the subject line.

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…meanwhile…

(“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy – completely annihilate it.” – President Biden. Scroll down for details.)

FRIDAY 10/20/23

Another Plea Deal in Election Interference Case -- Attorney Kenneth Chesebro became the second defendant this week to take a plea deal in the Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case for a trial in which jury selection was to begin today, suggesting further trouble for ex-President Trump's defense (per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). In a deal similar to fellow attorney Sidney Powell, Chesebro will serve five years' probation, surrender $5,000 restitution to the state, serve 100 hours community service and write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia. Chesebro also must "testify truthfully" as the case proceeds.

Let's note here that in his pre-speaker vote press conference Friday morning, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was asked whether he still believes the 2020 presidential election was stolen. "Yeah, I think there were all kinds of problems with the 2020 election," he replied, without answering directly (per The Wall Street Journal). "I've been clear about that." See results of Friday's vote for House speaker directly below.

•••

UPDATE: Jordan Loses Three More -- Twenty-five Republicans blocked Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-OH) third attempt to become speaker of the House Friday morning, with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Kean (R-NJ) and Marc Molinaro (R-NY) flipping from Wednesday's second try, when the Freedom Caucus founder lost 22 (per The Hill). Twenty Republicans voted against Jordan in the first vote early this week. He needs 217 votes and received 194 votes Friday, to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-NY) 210. Interim Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-NC) got six votes, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) got eight and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) got two. Nine House Republicans voted for others. At this point Jordan will be down to about 167 Republicans by the time he catches McCarthy's 15-round clinching of the speaker's gavel.

•••

White House Requests $105b for Israel, Ukraine -- Republicans are more unified in their support for Israel’s defense against Hamas, while Democrats are more unified in their support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia. President Biden’s strategy is to bundle his request for $105 billion in aid to both. The greatest obstacle now is a powerless, speaker-less House of Representatives, as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was set for his third attempt to claim the gavel Friday.

“Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people,” Biden said Thursday in only his second Oval Office address since he took office. “Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, and innocent Palestinian families are suffering greatly because of them.

“Meanwhile, Putin denies Ukraine has or ever had real statehood. He claims the Soviet Union created Ukraine. And just two weeks ago, he told the world that if the United States and our allies withdraw – and if the United States withdraw, our allies as well – military support for Ukraine, it would have, quote, “a week left to live.” But we’re not withdrawing.”

Why does this matter to America? Biden asserted that “when terrorists don’t pay for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going, and the costs and threats to America and to the world keep rising.”

Putin, the president said, “has already threatened to ‘remind’ – quote, ‘remind’ Poland that their western land was a gift from Russia.” A top Putin advisor, Biden said, calls Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – all NATO allies -- Russia’s “Baltic provinces.”

Biden also spoke of the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old just outside Chicago, last week.

“His name was Wadea – Wadea – a proud American, a proud Palestinian American family.

“We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia.”

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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What’s Right

If you lean conservative, enter your comments on President Biden's Oval Office address in the Comments section of this column. Or you may email editors@thehustings.news and indicate your political leaning in the subject line.

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No Menendez at Classified Briefing

Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) will not attend a Wednesday classified briefing on the Gaza Strip for all senators, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Tuesday (per The Hill). Latest charges against Menendez allege he and his wife received bribes of gold, cash, cars and home mortgage payments from a suspected agent of the Egyptian government.

Menendez had already stepped down temporarily as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Meanwhile, Newsweek reports that Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) raised more campaign funds for the 2024 Democratic nomination than the incumbent for Menendez’s Senate seat. For the reporting period ending one week after Kim announced his primary challenge, the representative raised $1,174,346 to Menendez’s $919,105, according to the report.

•••

Email your comments to editors@thehustings.news.

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…meanwhile…

(President Biden pushes an aid package for Israel and Ukraine in an address to the nation, 8 p.m. Thursday, as House Republicans continue their struggle to elect a new speaker. Details below.)

THURSDAY 10/19/23

SPEAKER UPDATE II -- The plan to extend the powers of the temporary House speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is on ice following a heated GOP meeting Thursday (per The Washington Post). Rep. Jim Jordan (R-CA) now says he will attempt a third try, though timing remains uncertain.

SPEAKER UPDATE -- The full House will not take up a third ballot Thursday on Rep. Jim Jordan's bid to become speaker, but he is not giving up, NPR reports. The Ohio Republican is expected to push the vote off until January, indicating that House Republicans will move to extend interim Speaker Patrick McHenry's (R-NC) tenure and responsibilities.

•••

Powell Pleads Guilty in Plea Deal -- Trump-aligned attorney Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts in the Georgia presidential election interference case Thursday, The Hill reports. Powell, perhaps the most fervid supporter of the ex-president's 'Big Lie' entered her plea before Fulton County Superior Court Scott McAfee. Her trial was scheduled to begin next week.

•••

Prime Time Biden Thursday – President Biden will speak to the nation 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, and to call on Congress for an aid package for both Israel and Ukraine, NPR reports. Biden has just returned from Tel Aviv, where he negotiated for Israel to allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, (per AP).

“Not many people thought I could get this done. And not many people want to be associated with failure,” he said upon his return (per NPR’s Morning Edition).

Protests over a massive explosion at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Hospital spread across the Middle East as Biden arrived for his visit. In Tel Aviv, Biden said evidence presented by Israel on the hospital blast pointed to “the other side,” possibly a rocket misfire.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said that Israel “will not thwart” deliveries of food, water and medicine from Egypt as long as it is delivered to civilians in the south of Gaza and not Hamas militants. There was no mention of the fuel Gaza needs for hospital generators, AP reports.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 10/18/23

UPDATE: Jordan Loses Support on Second Vote -- Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan netted a loss of one vote on his second shot at House speaker, with 22 fellow Republicans voting for other candidates. Jordan fell 20 votes short in the first round, and this regression does not bode well for him in an expected third vote. Of 433 House votes cast Wednesday, all 212 Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), 199 Republicans voted for Jordan, seven for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and five for former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Former Speaker John Boehner and former Republican Rep. Candice Miller, from Michigan, also earned votes (per video coverage by The Washington Post).

Jordan Down – The second House floor ballot for Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) quixotic attempt to become speaker was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday and while he whittled down GOP opposition from 55 in the party’s private poll last week to 20 on Tuesday, he apparently has reached an abyss. Jordan had cancelled a second ballot scheduled for late Tuesday after the first round, when he clinched 200 of the 217 votes he needs to grab the gavel, and Punchbowl News reports it has spoken to “dozens of members and aides” and “it doesn’t look to us that the Ohio Republican has any path to victory.”

At least 20 House Republicans doubt Jordan can reach a compromise with House Democrats to pass the 12 spending bills necessary to avoid a government shutdown by November 17 – never mind his close ties to Donald J. Trump and his January 6, 2021, vote against Electoral College certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.

Stopgap relief: There is growing interest from moderate House Republicans to extend the tenure of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-NC), NPR’s Morning Edition reports, with the help of the 212 House Democrats.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 10/17/23

Another Round Coming Up for Jordan -- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) fell 17 votes short of the 217 he needed to win the House speaker's gavel Tuesday afternoon, and says he will go for another round (The Hill). And why not? It took Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) 15 rounds to chip away at his Republican opposition to win the gavel early this year. Fifty-five Republicans voted against Jordan in a closed, private GOP straw poll last week, so with 20 voting against him on the House floor, support is going in the right direction for the Judiciary Committee chairman. All 212 House Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in Tuesday's first round.

•••

Biden to Israel, Jordan – President Biden travels to Israel Wednesday “to demonstrate his steadfast support for Israel in the face of Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack and to consult on next steps,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Biden will meet with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and call on Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

Then Biden will travel to Amman, Jordan to meet with King Abdullah and with Egyptian President Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and “reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination and discuss the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza,” according to Jean-Pierre.

•••

Jordan’s Shot at Speaker – Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) bid to become speaker goes to the full floor Tuesday, where the Democrats will vote for their minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Jordan won a secret House GOP ballot last week, though 55 Republicans voted against him; NPR’s Morning Edition reports that some Republican opponents to his ascendance have since flipped. Still, he can afford to lose no more than four Republicans on the way to the 217 votes necessary.

House GOP insiders have suggested to Punchbowl News that Jordan is 20 votes short of that 217. We are in for a multi-ballot House floor vote. Meanwhile, The Hill reports Jordan is gaining votes as Republican members become more concerned about the leadership vacuum in the House. We are in for a Speaker McCarthy election redux.

--TL

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MONDAY 10/16/23

Hezbollah Claims to Target Northern Israel – Israel is evacuating citizens within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of its northern border with Lebanon as the Lebanese Shia political party and militant group Hezbollah has targeted the area (The Guardian). Hamas says it has fired missiles at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as the Israeli Defense Force intensifies strikes against Gaza (from Reuters reports).

•••

Democracy Wins Poland – The left-center Civic Coalition led by Donald Tusk leads Poland’s parliamentary elections held Sunday, according to multiple sources quoting exit polls. The Law and Justice party have a plurality of votes at 36%, though its coalition partner lacks the votes to rival the left-center coaltion (NPR’s Morning Edition.) Poland’s election turnout reached 73%, with some voters standing in line as late as 3 a.m. Monday.

“Nobody can cheat us anymore,” Tusk, a former prime minister of Poland and former head of the European Council said Sunday evening. “We won back democracy. We won freedom and we have won back our beloved Poland.”

Acknowledging the right-wing coalition’s loss, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Law and Justice party said; “Whether we are in power or in the opposition, we will continue implementing our project and will not allow Poland to be betrayed.” (Per The Washington Post.)

Since Kaczynski and Law and Justice took power in 2015, they have been moving Poland toward the populist model of Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban, taking control of the nation’s media and the judiciary while attacking LGBTQ+ rights. In 2020, Poland outlawed abortion.

The political schism in Poland looks familiar, with large, liberal cities and conservative, Catholic rural areas.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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GOP Rep Threatened for No Vote on Jordan

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said Wednesday she received “credible death threats” after voting against Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in his bid for House speaker, Forbes reports. Miller-Meeks, who reported the threats to authorities, was not among the 20 House Republicans who voted against Jordan in the first round Tuesday, but she was one of 22 who voted against Jordan as he lost some GOP support in Wednesday’s floor vote.

Jordan needed 217 votes. He got 200 in the first round Tuesday and 199 in the second round Wednesday. After Tuesday’s vote, Fox News’ Sean Hannity published a list of the 20 House Republicans who voted against Jordan. Those Republicans received a “barrage” of calls and text messages, many of them threatening, according to The Guardian.

Up on the Hill: Meanwhile, mainstream Republicans “are launching a revolution,” over the House speaker struggle, The Hillreports. The 22 Republican members who voted against Jordan Wednesday include “swing districts and safe ones … “new members and longtime veterans.”

The mainstream Republicans are looking for a House speaker “not just capable of moving bills that we would prefer to move,” but also “have the skill sets to work with the opposing party, particularly in the Senate,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR), chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

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Lesko to Retire from House

Trump ally Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) announced she will not run for a fourth full term, citing congressional gridlock and her desire to spend more time with her family, CQ Roll Call reports.

"Right now, Washington, D.C. is broken; it's hard to get anything done," Lesko wrote on X-Twitter. She won a special election in 2018 and was appointed to the House Judiciary Committee during the Trump administration. Lesko, 64, currently serves on the Energy & Commerce Committee.

•••

Email your comments to editors@thehustings.news.

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Spoiler Alert

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is dropping his bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination in exchange for an independent shot.

"I am here to declare myself an independent candidate for president of the United States," he announced at a campaign rally near Philadelphia, per Politico. "We declare independence from the cynical elites who betray our hope and who amplify our division. And finally, we declare independence from the two political parties."

Democrats -- except for Kennedy's siblings, who released a statement that "Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgement" -- have avoided comment. But Republicans are, because RFK Jr., an environmental lawyer turned anti-vaxxer would more likely take votes from ex-President Trump than from President Biden next year.

•••

Email your comments to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you consider yourself “liberal” or “left” or “conservative” or “right” in the subject line.

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