Morning Report — McCarthy flips, doesn’t rule out being Speaker again  

Washington experienced a sense of déjà vu Monday as the House prepared to pick a Speaker and a familiar face threw his hat in the ring.  

You read that right: Erstwhile Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — who was publicly ousted from his post last week, making him the first Speaker in history to be voted out during his term — said Monday that he’d be open to retaking the position. 

“Whatever the conference wants, I will do,” McCarthy said during an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s syndicated radio program when asked about a possible return to the job. He echoed that sentiment hours later at a news conference largely focused on the Israel-Hamas war (The Hill and The Washington Post). 

IT’S A DRAMATIC REVERSAL for McCarthy, who last week proclaimed he would not seek the gavel again after his narrow ouster, orchestrated by a small group of conservative firebrands and backed by all Democrats. Those numbers make it unlikely for McCarthy to regain enough goodwill in his party — let alone across the aisle — within a week to gain the votes necessary for his reinstatement. 

Worth noting: The rap on McCarthy, who hasn’t officially declared himself a candidate, among his detractors is that he reverses course on key promises, from concessions to conservatives to scaling back spending levels negotiated with the White House during debt limit talks. 

But the two leading candidates for the job, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Steve Scalise (R-La.), are nowhere near getting the 217 votes they need to secure the gavel either. 

Scalise, the No. 2 Republican and a longtime McCarthy rival, has pitched himself as the man uniquely positioned to unite Republicans at a moment when they are deeply divided and demoralized (The New York Times). 

Jordan, on the other hand, is a favorite of House conservatives who’s garnered the endorsement of former President Trump — the same group who relished embarrassing McCarthy on the floor in January (Politico). 

“We’re kind of like a scattergram — we’re all over the map in terms of the way forward,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a leading appropriator, adding to reporters that talks were “civil” during a conference meeting on Monday evening, but that there are still “hard feelings” after McCarthy’s ouster. “This is a hard conference to lead. There’s a lot of free agents in there, a lot of people that just aren’t going to forfeit their individual voting card. … But I think right now the need for the conference is to function more like a team.” 

Scalise has said he’s open to revising the controversial “motion to vacate” rule that then allowed a small group of those members to oust McCarthy this week. Some GOP members are intent on changing the rule so a handful of GOP members can never again join with the minority to force a Speaker out and throw the House into chaos. A group of 45 House Republicans — just over a fifth of the GOP conference — signed on to an open letter last week calling for changes to the “motion to vacate” rule, expressing frustration with the eight GOP lawmakers — led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) — who joined with Democrats to remove McCarthy. 

But others who fought for the single-member threshold are defending the longtime standard (The Hill). 

House Republicans will begin closed-door meetings today, with votes on the Speaker expected later in the week. Democrats, united as they voted to oust McCarthy, are expected to again nominate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to the post, though his chances of winning the gavel are slim to none. 

A BACKDROP OF WAR: The chaos in the House is unfolding as war escalates in Israel and at least 11 Americans were casualties during the Hamas attacks. Some GOP lawmakers have voiced concerns that no Speaker candidate will amass the necessary votes and the chamber will remain in limbo (Axios). 

The question remains: Will the conference be able to unite around one member, or will the powers of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) be tested in the coming weeks as both the war in Israel and a looming November shutdown deadline draw near? 

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Biden, in a statement Monday, confirmed “at least” 11 Americans were killed in Israel during the Hamas attacks, a stunning announcement on a day in which he did not appear in public. He will speak about the situation at 1 p.m. ET at the White House. 

In his written remarks, Biden said it’s likely Americans are also among dozens of civilians captured and held by Hamas militants, who vowed to execute a hostage each time an Israeli air strike hits Gazans in their homes. 

ISRAEL’S CRISIS IS DEEPLY FELT in the United States, has sparked demonstrations in New York City and elsewhere and prompted state and local leaders to fortify law enforcement protection for synagogues and other religious sites around the country. 

“I have directed my team to work with their Israeli counterparts on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts,” Biden said in his seven-paragraph statement. 

The president joined his counterparts in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in a joint statement Monday condemning Hamas for acts of terror against civilians. “Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further emphasize that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage,” the leaders wrote. 

“FULL SIEGE”: Israel, which called up 360,000 reservists, on Monday ordered a blockade to try to cut off Palestinians, including Hamas fighters, from supplies that customarily cross its border. “I ordered a full siege on the Gaza Strip. No power, no food, no gas, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly,” said Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a former Israel Defense Forces commander now serving in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.  

Reuters: The European Union initially froze aid to Palestinians on Monday, then backtracked in disarray. 

Israel’s war to eradicate Hamas in the south will not be over soon, analysts predict. And Israel is worried about Iranian-backed Hezbollah to the north in Lebanon, striking three military installations there. 

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT has seen no evidence to substantiate reports that Iran had a role in the Hamas attacks on Saturday, a senior Pentagon official told reporters Monday. Iran has denied involvement. U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have nonetheless been quick to concede that Iran has been a longtime supporter of Hamas. 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, advocating de-escalation and diplomacy, said he was “deeply distressed” by Israel’s total blockade against Palestinians in Gaza. Speaking with journalists after a meeting with senior leaders on Monday, he condemned the shelling of hospitals and shelters in the Gaza Strip and called for the U.N. to be able to deliver humanitarian aid. He warned that Israel’s military operations “must be conducted in strict accordance with international humanitarian law.” Guterres also condemned Hamas’s capture of hostages, both civilians and military members. “It’s time to end this vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarization,” he said. 

The death toll this morning in Israel exceeds 900, according to the country’s military, the Israel Defense Forces. At least 788 Palestinians have been killed and 4,100 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.  

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The political chaos surrounding the vacant Speakership in the House threatens to upend Republican efforts to hold onto their slim majority in next year’s elections. Questions over who would succeed former McCarthy took on a new urgency this weekend amid an escalating war between Israel and Hamas, The Hill’s Julia Manchester reports. The air of havoc surrounding the GOP’s ouster of McCarthy at a time when a critical U.S. ally is at war could reverberate through some of the most competitive districts next year.  

The Hill: Israel-Hamas war upends political calculus for Biden and the GOP. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has ramped up her fundraising in recent months, a sign that her performance in the early presidential debates may have invigorated her 2024 candidacy. Haley, who, according to her campaign, has raised $11 million across her political committees to be spent on the primary, started the month with significantly more cash on hand than her rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — $9.1 million to his roughly $5 million — even as he out-raised her overall. But both Haley and DeSantis’s fundraising figures were dwarfed by the frontrunner; Trump announced he had raised $45.5 million in the quarter and had $36 million on hand that is eligible to be spent on the primary (The New York Times). 

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The Justice Department is fighting an effort by Trump to delay his documents case until after the 2024 election, pushing back on claims the government hasn’t done its part to provide access to evidence. The request from Trump’s team last week comes amid complaints from his legal team about the amount of classified evidence they’ve been able to review in the case, as well as their workload, as they manage numerous indictments filed against the former president. But the special counsel’s office said Trump’s team is exaggerating its struggles. 

“Reports, transcripts, and recordings of interviews with potential witnesses—essentially, the blueprint of the Government’s case-in-chief—have been made available within days of arraignment for all defendants, even though the Court’s scheduling order authorizes the Government to delay production of such materials until just before trial,” they wrote. 

In Florida, Trump is facing 32 counts for violation of the Espionage Act for mishandling records, as well as numerous other charges relating to obstruction of justice in blocking their return to authorities (The Hill). 

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HEALTH & WELLBEING 

Insurance barriers and distribution challenges complicate the rollout of highly anticipated new shots to protect babies from RSV and young kids from COVID-19, drawing anger and frustration among parents and pediatricians. As The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel reports, medical practices don’t know when, or how much, they will get paid for the pricey RSV shot, and are struggling to find workarounds. Parents find that availability of the updated COVID-19 vaccine is also scattered, despite being approved nearly a month ago. The struggles reflect the fact that the federal government is no longer buying and distributing most of the vaccines and is instead relying on the private sector.  

🦠 “Zombie viruses” frozen in permafrost for millennia and present in the warming Arctic worry scientists (amid many other climate change anxieties) (Bloomberg News and CNN). What sounds like science fiction is chronicled in a federally published research paper HERE. 

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And finally … 🦒 Repurposing, reusing and recycling are not new in arts and crafts. But there are limits.  

Would anyone knowingly wear jewelry made with giraffe feces? A woman, nabbed by Customs and Border Protection agents after traveling from Kenya to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport last month, said she envisioned making a necklace out of giraffe poop she packed in her luggage — and declared.  

She explained her inspiration: She previously made something similar using mouse droppings. 

The government destroyed the giraffe turds, which resemble large brown marbles, as a potential health hazard.  

“There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” Customs and Border Protection’s Chicago Field Director LaFonda Sutton-Burke said in a statement. “If this person had entered the U.S. and had not declared these items, there is high possibility a person could have contracted a disease from this jewelry and developed serious health issues.” 

By the way, The Associated Press, accompanying its report, has a photo of the unusual contraband. 

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