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THE TOP
Happy Monday morning.
Welcome back to the chaos that is the U.S. Congress.
The Senate returns to town today and will vote at 5:30 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is returning from a bipartisan weekend trip to Israel. And the Senate will begin the process of confirming Jack Lew to be U.S. ambassador to Israel this week. More about that in a moment.
Across the Capitol, it’s been 13 days since House Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker. At this time, GOP lawmakers are dysfunctional and paralyzed, seemingly unable to choose a leader and splintered like never before. The Republican Conference has turned into a high-stakes food fight.
The drama among House Republicans is our focus this morning. We spoke to dozens of sources over the weekend. Each of them offered some version of “This week is going to get very, very ugly.”
Jim Jordan. Let’s begin with Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio. We broke the news Sunday that Jordan is pushing for a floor vote Tuesday on his speakership bid.
Jordan won the House GOP Conference’s internal speaker election Friday in a wildly underwhelming fashion. Jordan received 124 votes versus 81 for Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who didn’t want to be speaker anyway.
Faced with this disaster, McCarthy — still a power player inside the conference — forced a second “validation vote” to see how many Republicans would back Jordan on the floor. Just 152 Republicans said yes, while a stunning 55 said no.
Team Jordan believes that they’ve shrunk this opposition dramatically over the weekend, although we estimate there’s still a double-digit number of Republicans who are “no.”
Yet Jordan backers are intent on bringing his nomination to the floor in order to pressure these wayward Republicans to flip. They may even attempt more than one floor vote depending on who opposes the Ohio Republican. Jordan’s allies warn that the Trump wing of the party will exact revenge on those who don’t vote yes.
Our friend Juliegrace Brufke of Axios tweeted an email from a Sean Hannity producer pressuring a Republican to support Jordan. Set aside the clumsy tone of the email for a second. This effort is so over the top that it may actually push wavering Republicans to vote against Jordan.
Jordan is also seeking to align House Republicans with a presidential candidate as never before, a huge gamble.
A group of establishment Republicans is working against Jordan. Some members from the House Armed Services Committee — led by chair Mike Rogers of Alabama — and the Appropriations Committee will vote against Jordan for as long as it takes to ensure he’s never speaker, according to multiple sources. This includes Rogers, California Rep. Ken Calvert, Florida Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and John Rutherford and Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans, among others.
Sources involved in the effort tell us that there are upwards of 10 lawmakers firmly in the “Never Jordan” camp. They haven’t decided who they’ll back, but it’s not likely going to be McCarthy. Whoever it is, this is enough to keep Jordan from the 217 votes he needs. Jordan can only lose four out of 221 House Republicans.
Other plans: There’s talk of conservative hardliners using an internal GOP resolution to seek replacement of the entire House Republican leadership team. Some Republicans have also suggested holding yet another internal speaker race where the top vote-getter is nominated for speaker, the second-place finisher takes the majority leader slot, and so on down the line. This probably doesn’t have any legs but we’ll keep an eye out for it.
Other lawmakers have floated electing a speaker by House resolution — potentially by plurality vote. This is complex but permissible. The resolution would call for an up-or-down vote on a specific candidate. We think this is far off as well.
Other candidates. There are a lot of names bouncing around right now should Jordan fizzle out. Some Republicans have floated Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the vice chair of the conference. The 51-year-old Johnson is a serious lawmaker who is well-liked in the conference.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is also mentioned repeatedly. Emmer, 62, has been in leadership for nearly five years, mostly as NRCC chair. Emmer has some allies on the right, but many in former President Donald Trump’s orbit who do not trust the Minnesota Republican.
Could McCarthy come back? We’re pretty bearish on this, but we wouldn’t be surprised if he starts thinking about this in the next few days. Some of the eight hardliners who voted against McCarthy may flip after another few days of chaos. But the question is whether other GOP lawmakers have taken up the anti-McCarthy mantle in the meantime.
The bipartisan route. We’ll be honest: During the last few days, many Republicans have told us that no GOP candidates can get 217 votes in the GOP Conference. That’s looking more likely with every new twist in this drama.
So could that lead to some sort of governing agreement with Democrats, as has been widely speculated?
There’ve been no substantive discussions between Republicans and Democrats about this over the last few days, sources tell us. Democrats will want a hefty price to support a GOP speaker — and that price may be too high for Republicans to stomach.
But remember: Any lawmaker can go to the floor when the House opens and offer a privileged resolution to expand Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry’s power, including electing him to the post. And that would have to come up for a vote in short order.
— Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan
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THE SENATE
Senate preps Israel action as House remains paralyzed
The Senate is back this evening following a week-long recess, and we’re expecting a flurry of moves related to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
First: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing for Jack Lew, President Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, on Wednesday.
There’s a bipartisan desire to have a Senate-confirmed ambassador in Israel quickly, especially in the wake of Hamas’ terror attacks. Democrats are also ratcheting up pressure over the current backlog of other State Department nominees, including ambassadors in other key Middle East posts and the department’s counterterrorism coordinator.
Not everyone is sold, though. Some Republicans are looking to spotlight what they see as the Biden administration’s weak posture toward Iran. Lew’s role in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is also coming under scrutiny.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Sunday that Lew “is an Iran sympathizer who has no business being our ambassador.”
Here’s more from Cotton’s appearance on “Fox News Sunday”:
“I know Democrats are saying that we need to confirm Jack Lew quickly to show our support for Israel. I would say it’s the exact opposite. We need to defeat Jack Lew’s nomination to show that we have a new approach to Iran.”
Cotton doesn’t serve on the Foreign Relations Committee. But he can still throw a wrench in the confirmation process if Senate leaders seek expedited approval of Lew’s nomination.
The Senate will also hear from top Biden administration officials about the Gaza war this week in a classified setting. An all-senators briefing is scheduled for Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. It will feature Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown.
Supplemental funding: Fresh off a weekend visit to Israel, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he’s directed relevant committee leaders to work with the Biden administration on an aid package “that the Senate can take up as soon as possible, hopefully within the next few weeks.”
The timeline comes as no surprise, especially since the White House is expected to release its supplemental funding request as soon as this week, highlighting the urgency here.
As we’ve reported, this package will likely include new funding for Ukraine and border security too. But several House Republicans have indicated that aid for Israel shouldn’t be mired in those other more partisan fights.
Schumer also referenced the House’s state of chaos, saying that it won’t prevent the Senate from acting.
“We’re not waiting for the House,” Schumer said Sunday from Tel Aviv. “We believe that if the Senate acts in a strong bipartisan way it may indeed improve the chances that the House — even with its current dysfunction — will act.”
Here’s more of what Schumer — the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history — said at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Sunday:
“America will stand with its ally Israel. And I, along with my colleagues here, will lead the effort in the United States Senate to provide Israel with the support required to fully defend itself from this monstrous attack…
“We will not just talk, we will act. We will work to move this aid through the Senate ASAP and the Israeli leaders made it clear to us they need the aid quickly.”
— Andrew Desiderio
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GOVERNING
Mayors descend on D.C. for Bloomberg CityLab
We cover Capitol Hill and the White House, but we’re pretty much into government and governing anywhere. The Bloomberg CityLab event this week on Pennsylvania Ave., just down the street from the Capitol, features an array of Cabinet officials, governors and mayors — U.S. and foreign — that’s worth checking out if you’re into that stuff too.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser are among the headliners, but there will be city officials from more than 40 countries attending this three-day event.
Here’s the announcement.
— John Bresnahan
THE CAMPAIGN
Some new fundraising numbers for you this morning.
First, the Senate: Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-Calif.) Senate campaign raised $3.4 million. She has $11.9 million on hand.
Matt Dolan, a Republican running for Senate in Ohio, gave his Senate campaign $3 million. Dolan has $6.7 million on hand. Bernie Moreno, also a GOP senate candidate in Ohio, gave himself $3 million.
Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), running against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2024, raised $4.7 million and has $7.9 million on hand.
Cruz raised $3 million and has $5.7 million on hand. Cruz’s victory committee raised $2 million.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), running for the Senate, raised $2.9 million and has $5.1 million on hand.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), up for reelection in 2024, raised $1.8 million last quarter and has $7.3 million on hand.
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), the front-runner to be the next senator from Delaware, raised $1.1 million and has $2 million on hand.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) raised $5.8 million and has $11.2 million on hand.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, who won his reelection in 2022, has $17.4 million on hand.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) raised just $825,883 and has $10.7 million on hand.
In the House: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), who is eyeing a statewide run, raised a shade over $1 million and has $15.8 million on hand.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) raised $1.3 million and has $14.4 million on hand.
Protect the House 2024, one of Kevin McCarthy’s fundraising vehicles, raised nearly $7 million.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) raised $1.1 million and has $5.4 million on hand.
Also: Donald Trump Jr. is appearing at a fundraiser for Darren Bailey, a GOP challenger to Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.). Bost, first elected in 2014, is the chair of the House Veteran Affairs Committee.
– Jake Sherman
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MOMENTS
All times Eastern
9 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.
10 a.m.: Biden will leave for Andrews, where he’ll fly to Pueblo, Colo. Olivia Dalton will brief on Air Force One.
2:40 p.m.: Biden will tour CS Wind, which is “the largest wind tower manufacturer in the world.”
3:45 p.m.: Biden will speak about “how Bidenomics and the Inflation Reduction Act are mobilizing companies to invest in clean energy industries and create good-paying jobs in communities across the country, including Colorado’s third congressional district.”
5:45 p.m.: Biden will leave Pueblo for Andrews.
6 p.m.: The House will return.
9:30 p.m.: Biden will arrive at Andrews.
Biden’s week ahead: Wednesday: Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a White House reception for Hispanic Heritage Month. Vice President Kamala Harris will attend. Friday: European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visit the White House for the E.U.-U.S. Summit.
CLIP FILE
NYT
→ | “The Real Estate Tycoon Whose Fingerprints Are on the Menendez Indictment,” by Elise Young and Tracey Tully |
WaPo
→ | “Blinken meets resistance in courtship of Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Gaza war,” by John Hudson and Claire Parker in Cairo |
AP
→ | “Colorado train derails, spilling train cars and coal onto a highway and trapping a semi-truck driver,” in Pueblo, Colo. |
Politico
→ | “Manchin and Sinema’s fundraising slows as they ponder 2024,” by Ally Mutnick |
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.
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