(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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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