A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
No More Mister Nice Guy?
The House GOP left DC last week without electing a speaker. They return this evening with just as much chaos and turmoil, and no clear path to electing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as the next speaker.
But rather than acknowledging the perils of his position or his failure to accumulate enough Republican votes for the speakership, Jordan is coming out swinging hard with the hopes of winning by sheer force. So much for consensus or negotiation. Jordan is going to try to bully his way to the top spot.
As the NYT reported over the weekend, Jordan is trying to activate the pro-Trump base to scare holdouts and opponents alike into voting for him. Punchbowl reported that Jordan is aiming for a floor vote Tuesday in which he’ll put all of his chips on the table with the aim of buffaloing waffling members into supporting him.
The dynamics of the House GOP have become so unhinged and unwieldy that there seems at least a faint prospect of some Republican members joining with Democrats to elect a new speaker in some sort of power-sharing arrangement. But let me put a heavy emphasis on “faint.” This still seems like a highly unlikely outcome, though it can’t be ruled out.
It’s hard for me not to assume that Jordan will find a way to pull it off, not because it’s a clear or obvious path to victory for him, but because the alternative for the GOP and the country seems absolutely insane: a speakerless House for a long stretch leading to political paralysis.
But that, my friends, is almost the definition of wishful thinking.
Never Forget …
Former Speaker Denny Hastert already broke the glass ceiling for sexually abusive ex-wrestling coaches. Jim Jordan is accused of ignoring abuse in the Ohio State wrestling program when he was an assistant coach, not participating in it. But it’s all worth another look:
- Sports Illustrated: Jim Jordan Speaker Candidacy Roils Ohio State Wrestling Community
- A Jordan ally is asked to address the allegations:
Illinois Boy Brutally Slain In Anti-Muslim Violence
A 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois died Saturday after being stabbed 26 times with a serrated military-style knife, allegedly by his 71-year-old landlord, in what police say was an anti-Muslim hate crime.
The boy’s mother was stabbed a dozen times and remains hospitalized in serious condition. The landlord was charged with state-level hate crimes, first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
President Biden said he was “shocked and sickened” by the attack and deplored Islamophobia.
Israel-Gaza Watch
- The Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues, with the death toll in retaliatory strikes since Oct. 7 rising to 2,750, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
- The death toll in Israel from the Hamas attack stands at more than 1,400 people. A total of 290 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
- Israel now says that number of hostages held by Hamas stands at 199.
- Thirty Americans have been killed in the violence, and 13 remain unaccounted for, the State Department said Sunday.
- Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken returned to Tel Aviv Monday
- Blinken promised Sunday that the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt would be opened to allow humanitarian relief through, but as of midday Monday the border crossing remained closed.
- National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that Israel has turned water on to part of Gaza, but on Monday Gaza’s Interior Ministry said there remains no water.
- Biden: Israeli reoccupation of Gaza would be a “big mistake.”
Busy Day Ahead
- Jan. 6 case: U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan holds a hearing at 10 a.m. ET in federal court in DC on whether to impose a limited gag order on former President Trump in his Jan. 6 case.
- Georgia RICO case: The judge holds a hearing Monday on the jury questionnaire to be used in the trial of Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell. The jury pool is expected to report to court on Friday, with jury selection set to start next Monday.
- NY fraud case: The NY state civil fraud case against Trump, his two adult sons and some of his business entities enters day 10 today.
Rudy G Just Keeps On Losing
The federal judge overseeing the defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani by Georgia election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman ordered Friday that the jury in the upcoming trial could draw a whole series of negative inferences against Giuliani for his failure to have complied with discovery demands.
What Egypt Allegedly Wanted From Menendez
Reporting by TPM’s Josh Kovensky suggests that the claims of American roller skater April Corley, strafed by the Egyptian military in 2015, really are at the center of the case against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
Jeff Landry Wins Louisiana Governorship
Louisiana flips from a moderate Democratic governor to a dyed-in-the-wool, far-right, Trump-endorsed MAGA governor in the form of Jeff Landry, who won an outright majority in the state’s jungle primary Saturday.
2024 Ephemera
- Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) played xenophobia card, coming out against accepting refugees from Gaza into the United States: “If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all antisemitic.”
- The liberal advocacy group Climate Power is planning an $80 million ad campaign to tout Biden’s record on the environment.
- Pence campaign is saddled with $620,000 in debt.
Sums It All Up
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Israel’s planned invasion of Gaza is a humanitarian and international PR disaster before it even begins. No matter how the military operation finally shakes out, it is already a massive failure.
I think it is quite likely that there are >6 Republican members of the House who are in the “I will simply never fucking vote for Jim Jordan for anything, ever” caucus.
Excuses for Gym Jordan from his colleagues are truly weak sauce. “He wasn’t in charge when the sexual abuse happened, so it wasn’t his responsibility.” “Lots of Republicans were involved in J6.” Have to pick up my jaw from the floor to proceed with the rest of my day.
Fox behaving badly again
Fox News’ Mark Levin in hot water after scathing attack on Jake Tapper, CNN over Israel-Hamas war coverage (msn.com)
‘How deeply runs the rot’: Fox hit for attempt to overthrow the House like 2020 election (msn.com)
As news spread that Sean Hannity was attempting to overthrow the House of Representatives with his own hand-picked man, the repetition was obvious to some and a campaign violation to others.
“So at the lowbrow entertainment network that paid a $787.5 million settlement for parroting lies crafted to overturn the Constitution, producers openly campaign in support of a coup-plotting legislator’s bid for the insurrectionist party’s leadership,” said Washington lawyer George Conway of Fox’s efforts to get Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to the Speaker’s office. "How deeply runs the rot
Sean Hannity Email to Jim Jordan Opponents Raises Questions (msn.com)
Brett Meiselas, co-founder of the progressive group Meidas Touch, posted on X while sharing the alleged email: “So is it normal for a major political party to use a cable ‘news’ host to extort party members into voting for their Speaker pick?”
Sherrilyn Ifill, a lawyer and the former director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, wrote: “A cable news station. Why are they given press credentials for the White House? They are not a news organization. They are a political/pr entity.”
Democratic strategist Tim Hogan added: “Is this a campaign finance violation regarding every member they called? Could it even be crime for Hannity if he failed to register as a lobbyist?”
Ted Cruz crushed in fundraising numbers by his Democratic opponent (msn.com)
Federal Election Commission reports show that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is having a difficult time raising money for his reelection bid for Senate.
Cruz, who spends most of his days working on his podcast, brought in a little over $3 million, noticed senior Daily Beast political reporter Roger Sollenberger. While his challenger Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), a former Baylor University linebacker, brought in $4.7 million.
What is perhaps the largest financial news, however, is that Cruz has considerably less cash on hand than Allred.
Cruz’s cash on hand is $5,756,097, whereas Allred has just under $8 million at $7,919,984.