President Joe Biden speaks Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, about the war between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
A quick recap of the day and what to look forward to tomorrow
President Biden condemned “abhorrent” attacks by Hamas against Israel in an address Tuesday afternoon, saying he would push Congress to provide aid and additional support to Israel as it fights the militant group.
“This is what they mean by human tragedy: an atrocity on an appalling scale,” the president said of the attacks launched against Israel.
Biden also confirmed reports that Americans are among the hostages taken by Hamas.
His address followed updates that more than 1,000 people in Israel had been killed since the attacks began, including 14 Americans.
Biden said he’ll ask Congress to “take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners.”
The president is expected to tie foreign aid to Israel to additional Ukraine aid, but administration officials said they also have alternative ways to support Israel without more congressional action.
While some Republicans have voiced opposition to more Ukraine aid, Congress overwhelmingly supports maintaining its support for Israel.
The administration said it believes at least 20 Americans are still missing in Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also plans to travel to the country this week in a show of support.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) warned residents to beware of “lone wolves” amid the fighting in Israel and Gaza, adding, “We’re the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. And we want our synagogues, our personnel to be extremely conscious.”
A group of Republican senators called on the Biden administration to freeze $6 billion in assets to Iran previously allocated as part of a prisoner exchange, due to concerns the funds may be used to further efforts against Israel.
The State Departmentdeclared the recent takeover of Niger‘s government a coup after nearly three months, a designation that cuts back on U.S. aid to the country.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) met with members of the moderate Republican Governance Group this afternoon as each tries to garner support for his Speaker candidacy.
The House GOP conference will hold a forum this evening to hear from the candidates, with no clear frontrunner having yet emerged. A conference vote is planned for tomorrow.
Based on current rules, a candidate needs support from a majority of Republican members to be the party’s nominee, though members can advance other nominations during the full House vote. The next Speaker will need majority support from the full chamber.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) is expected to officially launch her campaign for the Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) on Tuesday night, setting up a potential three-way race.
Sinema, who switched from Democratic to Independent at the end of last year, hasn’t said yet whether she’s seeking reelection in 2024. Lake, a 2022 gubernatorial candidate, was one of the higher-profile election-denying candidates to lose a competitive race that year. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is running as a Democrat.
COURT BATTLES
Special counsel wants to protect juror IDs in Jan. 6 trial
Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the judge overseeing the federal case into 2020 election interference, in which former President Trump was indicted, to conceal the identities of prospective jurors.
The motion from Smith’s team cited “the particular sensitivities of this case, stemming both from heightened public interest and the defendant’s record of using social media to attack others.” Read more here.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who spearheaded the effort to strip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) of the Speakership, “a cancer on the party and on the Congress.” Hogan, a No Labels honorary chair, also said he hasn’t ruled out a 2024 presidential bid.
Stephanopoulos to release book on Situation Room
George Stephanopoulos‘s upcoming book, “The Situation Room,” promises readers a “vivid retelling of the harrowing hours during the 9/11 attack,” “new details from Obama administration officials leading up to the raid on Osama bin Laden” and more, according to a news release.
OP-EDS IN THE HILL
“Silence on Section 702 surveillance reform was not an option” — Sharon Bradford Franklin, chair of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. (Read here)
“An epidemic of missing Black women has been ignored for too long” — Kamila A. Alexander, Ph.D., associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and Tiara C. Willie, Ph.D., M.A., a Bloomberg assistant professor of American Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (Read here)
⏲️ COUNTDOWN
29 days until the third GOP presidential debate.
38 days until the next government funding deadline.
🗓 COMING UP
Wednesday: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case on South Carolina’s redistricting.
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