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Lois Beckett (now); Maya Yang (earlier)

Trump ally Jim Jordan emerges as next Republican House speaker nominee - as it happened

Jim Jordan speaks to reporters as House Republicans hold a caucus meeting
Jim Jordan speaks to reporters as House Republicans hold a caucus meeting Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Evening summary: House has no speaker as GOP infighting continues

We’re wrapping up our live US politics coverage today, with the US congress still in limbo during an international crisis because of infighting between different segments of the Republican party. Key things to know:

  • Trump ally Jim Jordan emerged as the next Republican House speaker nominee, after he won the largest share of support in an internal party vote.

  • But a subsequent internal vote, gauging whether Republicans were ready to formalize their support of Jordan in an official floor vote, showed that Jordan only has the backing of a reported 152 Republican House members, while 55 oppose him. Jordan needs a total of 217 votes in order to be elected speaker.

  • After this vote, Republicans decided to leave for the weekend with no further votes, giving Jordan and his allies time over the weekend to attempt to win over more Republican support.

  • It remains unclear if Republicans will hold an official floor vote next week to make Jordan speaker regardless of whether internal vote counting shows he has enough votes to win, a move that ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy has urged the party to try, but that Jordan has previously indicated he would oppose.

In another House spectacle, Republican representative George Santos flew into a tirade on Friday with someone who appeared to be a protestor, saying that he “has no business” of being at the Capitol and called him a “terrorist sympathizer.”

While yelling as cameras pointed in his face, Santos said, “What is happening in Israel is abhorrent. What is happening to the people of Israel should not be defended. Nobody defending Hamas should have any business in this building.”

As Jordan prepares to rally support, calls from some Republicans to fall in line

Earlier today, Georgia congressman Austin Scott ran against Jim Jordan in an internal Republican vote over who to support as the next House speaker. In a last-minute bid, Scott reportedly got 81 votes to Jordan’s 124.

Now, Scott is publicly rallying support for Jordan, as the Ohio congressman and Trump ally tries to pick up the 65 additional votes he would need to secure the speakership next week.

Axios is also reporting, citing one unnamed GOP source, that Kevin McCarthy and Patrick McHenry have also urged fellow Republicans to fall in line behind Jordan, something they reportedly did not do after House majority leader Steve Scalise failed to get to 217 votes yesterday.

Tweeting it out: frustration among GOP lawmakers is very public

Over the past few days, Georgia congressman Mike Collins’ social media posts have capture the anger and scorn at Republican infighting that many Republicans are feeling.

Jim Jordan will work over the weekend to get more GOP support, CNN reports

With an internal vote putting Jim Jordan 65 votes short of the number he needs to become speaker of the house, the Ohio congressman will spend the weekend trying to woo some of his opponents, CNN’s Manu Raju reports.

Former GOP speaker Kevin McCarthy argued earlier today that the House should move forward and hold an official and public vote on whether to make Jordan speaker, even if internal votes have not shown that he has the support he needs to win that vote. Jordan, in contrast, suggested he did not want to move ahead to an official vote if it does not look like he could win.

Stalemate math: why Jim Jordan’s latest vote count is bad news for him

If you’re following along and need a recap of why the House of Representatives remains without a leader, and largely unable to function, here’s a reminder of the vote count math.

Last week, Kevin McCarthy, the GOP speaker of the house, was ousted from his speakership in a historic vote, in which a small group of Republicans who opposed McCarthy’s leadership joined together with the unified members of the Democratic party to vote McCarthy out.

Since then, House Republicans have failed to find a new speaker candidate who can unify the party, including anti-McCarthy and pro-McCarthy factions. As the AP puts it:

With the House narrowly split 221-212, with two vacancies, any nominee can lose just a few Republicans before they fail to reach the 217 majority needed [to elect a speaker] in the face of opposition from Democrats, who will most certainly back their own leader, New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

After GOP house majority leader Steve Scalise failed to get the votes necessary to move forward yesterday, Trump’s pick, Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, has taken the lead. But in the most recent internal vote today, with Republicans asked if they would vote for Jordan officially on the House floor, he was reportedly 65 votes short of the number he needs to win.

After more than a week of continued GOP infighting, Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman asked the obvious question: will Republicans ever agree on a candidate they can all support? Or will a GOP candidate have to get the backing of some Democratic members of congress in order to move forward?

Republicans will leave for the weekend with Congress in limbo, no speaker in sight

Punchbowl News, which has been ahead on the updates from Republicans’ internal negotiations, is reporting that Republicans have decided to give up for this week and go home.

This means that the US House of Representatives will remain unable to conduct official business during a major geopolitical crisis.

Falling short, Jim Jordan gets support from 152 Republicans in internal vote: report

In the ongoing Republican battle over choosing the next Speaker of the House, Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, who earned Donald Trump’s endorsement for the role, is currently the leading contender

But in an internal Republican vote today, meant to gauge party support before an official floor vote in the House, Jordan captured just 124 votes.

So Republicans held another internal vote to gauge whether they were ready to hold a floor vote in support of making Jordan speaker. This time, Jordan picked up just 154 votes, far short of the 217 Republican votes he needs to be confident of winning an official vote to become speaker on the floor, PunchBowl’s Jake Sherman reports.

House Republicans are currently carrying out a second ballot on Jim Jordan and whether they want a floor vote.

“Will you support Jordan on the floor,” is the question, Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman reports.

Trump ally Jim Jordan becomes next House speaker nominee

Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan has emerged as the next Republican House speaker nominee following an internal vote amongst House Republicans.

The vote was reported to be 124-81, with 81 of the votes going to Georgia’s Republican representative Austin Scott.

Jordan’s nomination follows a chaotic week in the House during which initial chief contender Steve Scalise dropped out on Thursday night after failing to secure enough support for a floor vote.

Jordan will now attempt to garner unified support for a bid ahead of a floor vote across a fractioned Republican-led House that includes several hard-line rightwing extremists.

Updated

Meanwhile, House Republicans are currently holding their internal speaker vote.

Earlier, CNN’s Manu Raju asked former House speaker Kevin McCarthy whether chief contender Jim Jordan should “battle it out on the floor” if he is short of 217 votes, to which McCarthy replied, “Yes.”

Joe Biden held one hour and fifteen minute-long phone call with families of American hostages taken by Hamas

While in Philadelphia to deliver remarks on Bidenomics, Joe Biden revealed that he held a Zoom call for an hour and fifteen minutes with the families members of “all those Americans who are still unaccounted for” in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

“It’s gut-wrenching. I assured them my personal commitment to do everything possible to return every missing American to their families,” said Biden.

“We’re working around the clock to secure their release of Americans held by Hamas in close cooperation with Israel and our partners in the region and we’re not going to stop until we bring them home,” he added.

Updated

House Republicans Mike Rogers of Alabama and Carlos Gimenez of Florida have voiced their speakership support for former House speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju whether the disarray could cost Republicans the majority, McCarthy, who said he will support Jim Jordan, responded:

“I think a lot of things have happened so far that make a real damage for us moving forward. I fear of different people retiring. I fear of having the resources to be able to do the job.”

House Republicans are set to hold a vote this afternoon on the House speaker.

Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman reports that some Republicans are pushing for a floor vote today, despite the absence of many Democrats.

Additionally, Steve Scalise’s supporters have told Sherman that they’ll “never vote” for Jim Jordan who is currently the top contender.

Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy said today that he will support Jordan as the nominee.

California’s Republican representative Darrell Issa has also thrown his support behind Jordan, saying, “Jim Jordan is the one you want in the toughest of fights. There’s a reason why Jim has been named to select committees, tasks forces, standing committees, and is a leading voice for the conference on the issues that matter most.”

Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy to support Jim Jordan for House speaker

Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy said that he is going to support Jim Jordan’s House speakership.

“I’m going to support Jim Jordan… I think he’s got the votes but we’ll see.

I think everybody has the right to run; I think Jim’s better prepared in the process to be Speaker,” said McCarthy.

President Joe Biden has issued a statement hailing the tentative agreement between Kaiser Pemanente and the coalition of Kaiser Permanente unions following the largest-ever healthcare strike in the country.

“We owe a tremendous debt to health care workers and the hard-working men and women who make their work possible.

I’m grateful to Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for coming together in good faith to ensure these workers can continue caring for our neighbors and loved ones.

Health care workers and support staff kept our hospitals – and our nation– going during the dark months of the pandemic. They had our backs during one of our nation’s toughest times. We must continue to have theirs,” Biden said.

He went on to say that “collective bargaining works” and that he was heartened to see healthcare workers and their employees take the “critical step towards securing the pay, benefits and working conditions these heroes deserve.”

White House principle deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton was just briefing media members accompanying Joe Biden to Philadelphia this afternoon.

He intends to talk about economic policy and the strategy he calls “Bidenomics”, about boosting the prospects of ordinary workers and the US middle class.

She said the Biden administration is “aggressively” trying to negotiate for corridors to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been under siege by Israel since Hamas militants burst out of the blockaded Palestinian territory last Saturday and attacked and massacred Israelis.

The US president has been on the phone to American families who have relatives taken hostage by Hamas and taken into Gaza, essentially as human shields to try to deter a ground attack by Israeli forces.

Dalton said that the calls were emotional for the families and Biden and the president heard accounts of the families’ ordeals, as their loved ones’ locations and condition remain unknown to the wider world.

Dalton said Biden would probably speak further on this later.

US President Joe Biden is welcomed by Air Force Colonel Paul Pawluk as Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland today, en route to Philadelphia to talk about “Bidenomics”.
US President Joe Biden is welcomed by Air Force Colonel Paul Pawluk as Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland today, en route to Philadelphia to talk about “Bidenomics”. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

The US Supreme Court avoided a potentially catastrophic accident last year when a piece of marble at least two feet long crashed to the ground in an interior courtyard used by the justices and their aides, according to several court employees, The Associated Press reports.

The incident, which the court still fails to acknowledge publicly, took place in the tense spring of 2022, as the court already was dealing with death threats and other security concerns and the justices were putting the final touches on their stunning decision, which had been leaked to the press in advance – ending the federal right to an abortion, by overturning Roe v Wade.

Justice Elena Kagan and her law clerks had been in the courtyard earlier in the day, the employees said.

No one was injured when the marble fell, the employees said. The piece was easily big enough to have seriously injured someone, they said. It was much larger than the basketball-sized chunk that fell near the court’s front entrance in 2005.

The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, earlier this week.
The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, earlier this week. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The Georgia marble used in the court’s four interior courtyards weighs about 170 pounds per cubic foot, according to Polycor, which owns the quarry that provided the marble.

The employees spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because court policy forbids all but a small number of employees from speaking to reporters on the record.

Justice Elena Kagan at a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in 2019.
Justice Elena Kagan at a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in 2019. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe would not provide any details about the incident or even confirm that it had taken place. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the building was closed at the time to the public and members of the news media who regularly cover the court.

Each of the four courtyards has fountains and columns that resemble those on the outside of the building. There are tables and chairs where employees can have lunch or work on nice days.

Summary

Another tense and dramatic morning on Capitol Hill despite neither the House nor the Senate officially being in session. It’s all down to the House Republican political civil war, of course, with the speakership nowhere near filled after Steve Scalise dropped out, very short on votes. All this amid geopolitical crises. Joe Biden is in the thick of Israel-Hamas politics from Washington and secretary of state Antony Blinken and defense secretary Lloyd Austin are in the Middle East. Biden wants congress to agree more security funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

We’ll continue to bring you the US political news as it happens.

Here’s where things stand:

  • The House Republican cage fight continues. The divisive and brash Trump acolyte, Jim Jordan, wants to be nominated as speaker and now so does Georgia congressman Austin Scott.

  • Joe Biden has spoken virtually with the families of American hostages that are believed to be currently held by Hamas in Gaza.

  • House Republicans are currently in another candidate forum – a mosh pit behind closed doors where they try to pick a nominee for speaker whom they can send to the floor for a full vote by the congressional chamber.

  • The CIA has admitted that the 1953 Iranian coup that it backed which ultimately overthrew Iran’s then prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq was undemocratic.

  • Ohio congressman Jim Jordan has an uphill battle to become speaker, after he put himself forward again after Steve Scalise withdrew last night (to whom Jordan had lost out as the conference’s first nominee.)

  • Senior congressional Democrats, including House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, are attacking Republicans in the House over the disarray that is keeping Congress paralyzed.

Updated

Texas’s Republican senator Ted Cruz has publicly endorsed Jim Jordan’s House speakership nomination.

“Jim is a good friend and a strong conservative,” Cruz wrote in a tweet on Friday.

“My philosophy on political endorsements is to support the strongest conservative who can win. That is Jim Jordan,” he added.

Liz Cheney has issued a warning that if Republicans nominate Jim Jordan to be House speaker, then “they will be abandoning the Constitution.”

In a tweet on Friday, Cheney, wrote:

“Jim Jordan was involved in Trump’s conspiracy to steal the election and seize power; he urged that Pence refuse to count lawful electoral votes.

If Rs nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They’ll lose the House majority and they’ll deserve to.”

During the last Democrat-led Congress, Jordan refused to cooperate with the House January 6 select committee, despite being served with a subpoena.

President Biden to speak with families of American hostages believed to be held by Hamas

Joe Biden is set to speak virtually with the families of American hostages that are believed to be currently held by Hamas.

In an a clip of an interview with CBS that is set to air on Sunday, Biden said:

“I think they have to know that the president of the United States of America cares deeply about what’s happening, deeply. We have to communicate to the world this is critical. This is not human behavior. It’s pure barbarism. And we’re going to do everything in our power to get them home.”

The White House has not disclosed when Biden’s call is to take place.

On Wednesday, National Security Council John Kirby said that there are a “very small” number of Americans believed to be held as hostages by Hamas.

Head to our Israel-Hamas blog for the latest updates:

Updated

Georgia representative Austin Scott files to run for House speaker

Georgia’s Republican representative Austin Scott has filed to run for House speaker, Reuters reports.

In an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju yesterday following hours of closed-door meetings on the chamber’s speakership, Scott criticized a handful of Republicans whom he said “like to go on TV and are not necessarily negotiating for anything other than TV time.”

House Republicans are set to have a candidate forum at 1pm today.

Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman reports that so far, Jim Jordan is the only candidate.

Idaho’s Republican representative Mike Simpson is reported to have said that he will support the Republican speaker nominee, a pivot from his position yesterday when he said he would not support Jordan.

Georgia’s Republican representative Austin Scott criticized certain Republicans whom he said “like to go on the TV and are not necessarily negotiating for anything other than TV time.”

Speaking to CNN following yesterday’s closed-door meetings, Scott, who is not supporting Jim Jordan, added, “It makes us look like a bunch of idiots.”

The CIA has admitted that the 1953 Iranian coup that it backed which ultimately overthrew Iran’s then prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq was undemocratic.

The Guardian’s staff and agencies report:

The CIA has for the first time acknowledged that the 1953 coup it backed in Iran that overthrew its prime minister and cemented the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was undemocratic.

The admission came in a new podcast revealing details about one of the most famed CIA operations of all times – the effort to spirit six American diplomats out of Iran under the guise of a Hollywood movie production.

The CIA in 2013 admitted its role in the coup that brought down Iran’s then prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq, but until now has not publicly acknowledged that the move was undemocratic.

Much of the agency’s official history of the coup remains classified, complicating the public’s understanding of an event that still resonates, as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington.

The “CIA’s leadership is committed to being as open with the public as possible”, the agency said in a statement responding to questions from the Associated Press. “The agency’s podcast is part of that effort – and we knew that if we wanted to tell this incredible story, it was important to be transparent about the historical context surrounding these events, and CIA’s role in it.”

For the full story, click here:

Several Republicans continue to have doubts towards Jim Jordan's speaker candidacy

Several Republicans continue to have reservations about Jim Jordan’s House speakership candidacy.

One of the Republicans includes Florida’s representative Vern Buchanan who told CNN that he is not ready to throw his support behind Jordan yet.

“I don’t like the way this whole thing has played out,” Buchanan said, expressing concerns over the whole House speakership commotion.

Updated

New Jersey’s Democratic senator Cory Booker has joined Elizabeth Warren in her criticisms of the GOP-majority House, saying, “We are in crisis.”

Speaking to MSNBC, Booker said:

“This is a problem. We are in crisis right now in the country. We have important issues we should be dealing with, resolutely supporting the effort in Ukraine, resolutely standing with Israel, helping to aid in their defense and the protection of citizens, and the evacuation of Americans from Gaza to Israel, there are many important issues, not to mention funding the government.”

He went on to a “small group” of extremist Republicans who he said are “undermining the functioning of government.”

Massachusetts’s Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized the Republican-led House following days of political in-fighting as Republicans continue to struggle to decide on a speaker.

“The GOP House has nearly defaulted on the national debt, nearly shut down the government, & plunged itself into chaos by deposing a Speaker,” Warren tweeted on Friday.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer to lead bipartisan visit to Israel

Chuck Schumer is set to visit Israel alongside a bipartisan group of US lawmakers to “show the United States’ unwavering support for Israel.”

Schumer, the US’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, will meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli president Isaac Herzog and senior opposition figure Benny Gantz, the Associated Press reports.

Earlier this week, Schumer met with China’s president Xi Jinping in a visit to Beijing where he and five other senators raised concerns surrounding trade and the fentanyl pipeline.

During the visit, Schumer said that he was “disappointed” that Beijing showed “no sympathy” for the Israel and called on addiitonal support from China towards Israel.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. speaks during a news conference after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese officials, at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Oct. 9, 2023.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. speaks during a news conference after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese officials, at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Oct. 9, 2023. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

With Steve Scalise out of the picture for the House speakership, here is the Guardian’s Lois Beckett’s report on Republican reactions and what could and needs to happen next:

Scalise’s Thursday night announcement sent Republicans back to the drawing board, and some Republican members of Congress immediately started sparring on social media.

When Florida congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna tweeted out a list of potential candidates, after making headlines for changing her support for Scalise overnight, Georgia congressman Mike Collins responded: “We already did that,” and wrote that the real problem was that “it’s egos and TV time.”

“We’re a ship without a rudder right now,” freshman Missouri congressman Mark Alford told reporters Thursday night. “And I’m thoroughly disappointed in the process. And I just pray to God that we find something.

The House is entering its second week without a speaker and is essentially unable to function. The political pressure increasingly is on Republicans to reverse course, reassert majority control and govern.

Action is needed to fund the government before a potential federal shutdown in a month. Lawmakers also want Congress to deliver a strong statement of support for Israel in the war with Hamas, but a bipartisan resolution has been sidelined by the stalemate in the House. The White House is expected to soon ask for money for Israel, Ukraine and the backfill of the US weapons stockpile.

For the full story, click here:

Democratic House leader calls on GOP to 'get their act together'

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has called on Republicans to “get their act together and elect a speaker.”

Speaking to PBS in a new interview, the New York Democrat also called on “traditional Republicans to break with the extremists…and partner with Democrats on a bipartisan path forward.”

“We are ready, willing and able to do so. I know there are traditional Republicans who are good women and men who want to see government function but they are unable to do it within the ranks of their own conference which is dominated by the extremist wing,” he added.

Updated

Gaetz, who let effort against McCarthy's, endorses Jordan

Matt Gaetz, Florida’s Republican representative who led the motion to oust former House speaker Kevin McCarthy, appears to have thrown his support behind Jim Jordan.

In response an interview that former House speaker Paul Ryan gave in which he criticized Gaetz, Gaetz replied:

“Paul Ryan is a FAILED House Speaker who grew our deficit and debt. No wonder he has great empathy for Kevin McCarthy. It’s Jim Jordan Time!”

Gaetz is a hard-line Republican who moved to oust McCarthy after McCarthy worked alongside Democrats last month to pass a bipartisan bill that avoided a federal government shutdown at the eleventh hour.

In a separate tweet, Gaetz vowed to “get the most conservative Speaker of the House with broad trust across the conference.”

Updated

Good morning readers,

The House has been thrown into commotion once again after Louisiana’s Republican congressman Steve Scalise withdrew his bid for the chamber’s speakership on Thursday night.

Following closed-door meetings that lasted hours, Scalise announced his withdrawal, saying that the Republican majority “still has to come together and is not there.”

“There are still some people that have their own agendas,” he said, adding, “And I was very clear, we have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs.”

The House, now in its second week of recess amid growing international crises, remains in a standstill paralyzed by Republican in-fighting. House Republicans are set to meet again at 10am today to figure out a speaker, Politico reports.

The focus is now on Ohio representative Jim Jordan, chair of the judiciary committee and co-founder of the right-wing Freedom Caucus. Earlier this week, Jordan, Scalise’s top contender, said that he would vote for Scalise, according to sources familiar with the matter. With Scalise now out of the picture, it remains uncertain whether Jordan will renew his speakership candidacy.

Democrats, including House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, have called on Republicans to “break from Maga extremists” and said that the a “bipartisan path forward is the only way out.”

Here are other developments:

  • President Joe Biden is set to travel to Philadelphia this afternoon and deliver remarks about Bidenomics

  • Cenk Uygur, founder of the Young Turks TV show, has announced his long-shot Democratic bid for the 2024 presidency

  • New Jersey’s Democratic senator Bob Menendez is facing resignation calls after being charged with acting as a foreign agent of Egypt.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates.

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