Happy Tuesday from a busy Capitol Hill. This may be a C-SPAN-is-the-new-Bravo kinda day, so I suggest tuning in. Here’s what we’re covering today: The House is voting on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for Speaker. President Biden is leaving later today for a high-stakes wartime visit to Israel.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had to hide in a bunker with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after air raids sounded during their meeting in Tel Aviv.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. |
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A girl has no name and a House has no Speaker: |
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House GOP Speaker nominee Jim Jordan (Ohio) is headed into a floor vote today with a very uncertain outcome.
What happens if he doesn’t get enough support?: More floor votes are possible. Jordan will try to cobble together more support in the meantime. If he cannot reach the threshold though, it will be back to the drawing board for the GOP.
The math: There are 221 Republicans in the House. He needs 217 votes to win. Jordan is not expected to get any Democratic support, so five or more Republicans voting “no” will tank his bid to be Speaker.
^ There is a small caveat here: If any members are absent or vote “present” instead of backing a candidate for Speaker, it will lower the threshold of votes that Jordan needs.
Does he have the votes?: It doesn’t look that way. More than four House Republicans are opposed to Jordan — and a few others said they will decide during the vote. CNN’s Haley Talbot has a helpful list of which Republicans are not supporting Jordan.
Watch the House floor vote Live blog of updates |
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What House Republicans ate for dinner last night: Panera Bread, according to Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman. Oooh, I love a “Pick Two” meal.
One House member says Fox News host Sean Hannity’s team is getting involved: Axios’s Juliegrace Brufke posted on Sunday: “Moderates are growing increasingly irritated with the tactics Jordan allies are using to pressure them into voting for him, with one member noting the Hannity show has gotten involved in the efforts sending potential defectors the email below. One lawmaker said the push is counterproductive to swaying Jordan skeptics.” Read the email reportedly sent to a House member
I feel like there should be a reality dating show in Grassley’s office: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) posted, “Jen, my chief of staff & Nick Davis got married in Cedar Rapids this [weekend.] They are the 20th couple to marry after [meeting] in my office.” 20th!! Photos from the wedding
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Senate Republicans are reluctantly warming to the idea: |
“Senate Republicans embarrassed by the prolonged stalemate in the House over electing a new Speaker are warming up to the idea of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) taking the job in hopes that he’ll be able to corral conservative House rebels.”
Basically: Jordan wouldn’t be their first choice, but the longer the House goes without a Speaker, the worse it is for the party.
A few senators think Jordan has softened: “[Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)] and other senators think that Jordan has ‘evolved’ since his earlier days of tormenting GOP leaders and helping chase former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) from power. Boehner once called members of the Freedom Caucus, which Jordan once led, a bunch of ‘legislative terrorists.’” ^ Keep in mind: Jordan supported former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid for the position in January. It was Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), not Jordan, who caused the Speaker chaos by filing a motion to vacate the office earlier this month. More on where the Senate stands on Jordan, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton |
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This will be a tense trip for everyone involved: |
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President Biden is taking a high-stakes wartime trip to Israel overnight to reaffirm the U.S.’s support for Israel.
Details of the trip: Biden will stop in Tel Aviv, Israel, to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He will then travel to Amman, Jordan, later Wednesday to meet with King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Biden’s message: Highlighting the need for humanitarian support — and driving home the message that Hamas is the enemy and doesn’t represent the majority of the Palestinian people. (The Hill)
Israel has been preparing for a ground operation in Gaza. Is that affected by Biden’s timing: National security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. is not involved in Israel’s timing but said there are good security measures in place. (The Hill)
To give you a sense of the real danger of this trip: Air sirens interrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with Netanyahu on Monday, forcing them to shelter in a bunker for five minutes. (The Hill) |
One of the most gut-wrenching parts of this conflict: |
Hamas has taken nearly 200 hostages since its initial attack on Oct. 7. The New York Times spoke with a few of the families of the hostages.
I can’t imagine how these families are feeling: “These are the families experiencing the unbearable anguish of being in the middle of the world’s most complicated hostage crisis in recent memory. Babies, grandmothers and wounded Israeli soldiers. Americans, Filipinos, French and Mexicans. Scores of people have been abducted from that rave party and from a ring of small towns and kibbutzim that heavily armed Hamas members besieged for hours before Israel’s security forces could respond.”
Where are they?: “Experts say that Hamas has most likely locked them up in a warren of underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli Air Force bombards the territory and the army prepares to invade. It’s not clear to anyone how Israel is going to launch a full-scale invasion of Gaza without putting the hostages at greater risk.” (The New York Times)
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➤ HAMAS RELEASED VIDEO OF AN ISRAELI HOSTAGE: |
Hamas is beginning to release videos of the hostages. (The Hill)
From one video released Monday: “They are taking care of me. They are treating me, giving me medicine, everything is fine. I only ask that they return me home as quickly as possible to my family, to my parents, to my siblings. Please, get us out of here as quickly as possible. Please.” Reaction from the White House: Spokesperson John Kirby condemned the new hostage video as “despicable.”
Kirby told NBC’s “Today”: “There’s no question in my mind that that woman gave that video testimony under duress, probably forced to do it. It’s a propaganda video much more than it is proof of life or, certainly, proof of concept for Hamas. It’s despicable, deplorable, that they would take these hostages and then advertise how well they’re treating them when they’re the ones who hurt them in the first place.” |
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➤ HOW THE HOSTAGE CRISIS WILL TEST BIDEN: |
“The fate of hostages is always an emotive issue. But from a political standpoint, the current situation will raise the stakes for Biden as he and his administration try to win the release of Americans.” Read Niall Stanage’s column |
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➤ HEADLINES FROM THE MIDDLE EAST:
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🍝 Celebrate: Today is National Pasta Day! Olive Garden brought back its Never-ending Pasta Bowl through Nov. 19, so we feast! (Food and Wine) 🧀 Read: “How Lunchables ended up on school lunch trays: Weak rules and industry power have allowed ultra-processed products on the menu.” (The Washington Post)
📺 Watch: Here’s a list of 26 new or returning shows this fall. I’m currently watching Season 3 of “The Morning Show” and highly recommend it! (HuffPost) 👗Reminisce: The New York Times’s Styles writers weighed in on the “Beckham” series on Netflix from a 1990s fashion perspective. (The New York Times)
🤯 Laugh: If you’ve been following the TikTok trend of people telling crazy stories stemming from a video of a woman’s homemade pesto recipe, Susi chimed in with her own wild story. (TikTok)
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The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, D.C., and Vice President Harris is in Los Angeles and Flagstaff, Ariz., today. (all times Eastern)
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Noon: The House meets for a Speaker vote. 2:15 p.m.: Two Senate roll call votes. Today’s agenda
3:30 p.m.: Harris speaks at Northern Arizona University. 📺 Livestream
5 p.m.: First lady Jill Biden hosts a reception to celebrate the U.S.’s return to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 📺 Livestream This evening: Biden leaves for Israel.
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