Punchbowl News: “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.”
Playbook: “For a hint of what this human lightning rod will be up against, check out the email Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke shared last night showing how Sean Hannity is reportedly using the power of his primetime Fox News show to bring Jordan opponents into line.”
“With the House still paralyzed in the absence of a speaker, the idea of giving Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry more power to conduct normal business is picking up growing bipartisan support,” Semafor reports.
“A number of Republicans have been pushing to let the North Carolina lawmaker bring bills to the floor in order to keep the chamber functioning while the party works through its infighting. Now at least a handful of moderate Democrats are getting behind the concept as well, especially as it becomes clear that the GOP’s latest speaker nominee, Jim Jordan, faces an uphill battle.”
New York Times: There’s still no House Speaker. What happens now?
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said Sunday if House Republicans cannot elect a Speaker soon then a “deal will have to be done” with Democrats in order to get the chamber running again, as it nears two weeks since Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) historic ousting, The Hill reports.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) is supporting Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for speaker of the House, but he’s not too impressed with the tactics some of his fellow House Republicans are taking in campaigning for Jordan, The Messenger reports.
Said Crenshaw: “That is the dumbest way to support Jordan, and I’m supporting Jordan. I’m going to vote for Jordan. And as somebody who wants Jim Jordan, the dumbest thing you can do is to continue pissing off those people and entrench them.”
“A faction of Republicans that strongly opposes Jim Jordan is vowing he’ll have a challenger during the House floor speakership vote on Tuesday, according to two House Republicans familiar with the planning,” Politico reports.
“While they have not yet nailed down a specific name, they believe the person they ultimately land on will not only be able block Jordan from the speakership, but also give cover to those who want to vote against him. The challenger will certainly take arrows from the far-right flank of the conference, which is pushing hard for Jordan.”
“Israel and the U.S. are discussing a possible visit by President Biden to Israel later this week,” Axios reports.
“A Biden visit would be both a show of support for Israel amid the war with Hamas and a message to Iran and Hezbollah not to join the fighting.”
“President Biden warned Israel in an interview aired on Sunday not to reoccupy Gaza, his first significant public effort to restrain America’s ally in the wake of the Hamas assault that killed more than 1,300 people, including at least 29 Americans,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Biden has offered staunch support for Israel since the Oct. 7 attack and refused to criticize Israel for its retaliatory siege of Gaza, the coastal enclave controlled by Hamas, even as U.N. officials have warned of a humanitarian crisis there. But in the new interview, he cautioned against a full-scale occupation of Gaza.”
Playbook: “Is the international praise for Biden’s solidarity with a close democratic ally rewarded by Americans? There was some speculation that Biden’s support for Ukraine as it faced down Russian aggression could produce a rally-around-the-flag effect in America. It never really happened.”
“Does Biden’s unwavering support for Israel halt the anti-Israel drift in the Democratic Party? Some initial polling shows that it has, with more Democratic voters expressing sympathy for Israel than before the terrorist attacks. Will it be sustained through the coming Israeli ground war in Gaza?”
“Does Biden’s staunchly pro-Israel stance change the contours of the 2024 race?”
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced stiff resistance from the Arab world’s most powerful strongmen on Sunday, trying to convince Egypt’s Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to embrace Washington’s view of the Israel-Hamas conflict, despite deep public sympathies for the Palestinian cause in the respective countries,” the Washington Post reports.
“The top U.S. diplomat is hopscotching the Middle East with the goal of convincing Arab partners to condemn Hamas’s horrific assault in Israel and refrain from stoking domestic unrest in response to Israel’s devastating bombing campaign in Gaza.”
Politico: “That’s the question at the heart of a federal hearing Monday, when U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan will consider whether to order the former president to stop attacking potential witnesses, prosecutors and court officials involved in his federal case over election fraud.”
“If Chutkan agrees that Trump’s penchant for public invective should be restrained, it will be his first brush with court-ordered consequences in a criminal case — consequences that, at least in theory, could be backed by the threat of jail time.”
“And a gag order would immediately raise two questions that could define his bid to retake the White House: Is Trump capable of abiding by a court-ordered restriction on his speech? And what is Chutkan prepared to do if he isn’t?”
Israeli Defense Forces announced that they had killed a Hamas commander they believe is responsible for an attack on a kibbutz near the Gaza border.
“Russia’s foreign minister will visit North Korea this week, days after the United States claimed Pyongyang had delivered munitions and military equipment to Russia for use in the fighting in Ukraine,” the AP reports.
“Ecuadorean presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez on Sunday conceded the presidential election to her rival, business heir Daniel Noboa, congratulating him on his victory,” Reuters reports.
“Noboa was tallying more than 52% of the vote, while Gonzalez had about 48%, with nearly 90% of ballot boxes counted.”
“Well before Rep. Lauren Boebert and her date got thrown out of a local theater showing of Beetlejuice for being disruptive and frisky, her campaign spent hundreds of dollars at his bar,” Politico reports.
“The Colorado congresswoman’s campaign put down $317.48 in late July at Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar in Aspen, Co… That’s the same bar co-owned by Quinn Gallagher, the man who accompanied Boebert to the theater that fateful September night.”
“Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared the beginning of a new era for his country after opposition parties appeared to have won enough votes in Sunday’s election to oust the ruling populist party,” the AP reports.
Politico: “It’s a stunning defeat for PiS, which has been in power since 2015.”
“The party mobilized the full resources of the state to help it win, and it was also strongly backed by state media — which are firmly in the ruling party’s camp. However, PiS was hobbled by a growing number of scandals — including allegations that officials were selling visas for bribes.”
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