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House Speaker Mike Johnson

Reuters

Johnson avoids government shutdown, sidesteps Trump’s demands

Congressional leaders worked through the weekend to reach a deal to fund the government through December. Sunday’s decision is a small triumph for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who convinced fellow Republicans that shutting down the government 40 days before a tight election would be “political malpractice.”
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House Majority Whip Tom Emmer

Reuters

House Republicans will vote yet again

For three weeks, the US House of Representatives has failed to function as Republicans fight over who should serve as speaker. The government will shut down in less than one month unless someone can win the 217 votes needed to lead the House and then advance a bill to fund the government, a bill that passes the Senate and earns the president’s signature. Bipartisan calls for aid to Israel and Ukraine are also held up until the majority of Republicans elect a speaker.

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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) presides over the House Judiciary Committee

Nurphoto

Speaker race: Jordan might get there

As the week began, it seemed unlikely Jim Jordan of Ohio, the Republican nominee for Speaker of the House, could win the near unanimous support within his party he needed to win the job. But on Monday, his fortunes appeared to shift.

Endorsements from three crucial members – Mike Rogers of Alabama, Ann Wagner of Missouri and Ken Calvert of California – sharply raised expectations that House Republicans can get to yes and end their crisis.

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Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks to reporters after departing from a GOP caucus meeting working to formally elect a new speaker of the House.

USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

Speaker snafu hobbles House

The US House of Representatives has now gone 14 days without an elected speaker. After Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana abandoned his bid due to lack of support, Jim Jordan of Ohio became the second Republican nominated in the past week to run for House speaker, beating Rep. Austin Scott, of Georgia, in a closed-door vote on Friday. Democrats, meanwhile, support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York.

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A collage showing the US Capitol, former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.

GZERO Media/ Jess Frampton

Washington chaos rings alarm bells in Ukraine and Europe

You’ve heard the news. Rebel Republicans and unsympathetic Democrats ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his job yesterday. That post is now officially “vacant.” For now, Patrick McHenry (R-NC) holds the post of Speaker Pro Tempore to ensure there’s someone there to keep the lights on and the process moving toward the election of a new speaker.

Americans (and the world) are now trying to figure out what it all means. But keep in mind, this has never happened before. The only previous attempt to fire a speaker of the US House of Representatives failed, and that was 113 years ago. The cliché “uncharted waters” fits perfectly here.

But … you’ve got questions, lots of questions, and I’m here to give you the best available answers.

We just survived a shutdown threat last weekend. Should we expect more of these congressional showdowns?

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Ousted U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Reuters

McCarthy is ousted as House speaker. What comes next?

In a historic first, the most powerful Republican has been ousted.

After just nine months on the job, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted on Tuesday when Democrats joined eight Republicans in backing a vote calling for his ouster. Crucially, the vote was brought by the right flank of McCarthy’s party.

How’d we get here? A handful of anti-establishment, far-right Republicans have opposed McCarthy’s speakership from the get-go, but the immediate trigger was the speaker’s decision to work with Democrats over the weekend to pass a temporary spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. Though that stopgap measure, which will expire on Nov. 17, did not include more aid for Ukraine, McCarthy did agree to introduce a separate measure to dole out more funds to Kyiv, infuriating far-right members of his caucus.

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U.S. House Speaker McCarthy talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Reuters

Debt ceiling deal comes down to the wire

There was much relief after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Saturday night that they’d agreed to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default in the world’s largest economy by June 5, the date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the US will run out of money to pay back its debts. But it’s clear that the ongoing crisis will come down to the wire. (For more on what’s in the proposed bill, see here.)

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DeSantis' 2024 strategy: dominate the internet
DeSantis' 2024 strategy: dominate the internet | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

DeSantis' 2024 strategy: dominate the internet

Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, DC shares his perspective on US politics.

Is Ron DeSantis too online?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his 2024 presidential bid this week on a Twitter Spaces event hosted by its terminally online CEO Elon Musk. Amid dropping poll numbers and headline after headline criticizing his unfriendly nature, DeSantis’s decision to launch his campaign on Twitter raises an important question: is the Florida Governor too online?

Twitter has been an important hub for conservatives for years and has become more so since Musk bought the platform and became its CEO. DeSantis’s decision to launch his presidential campaign on Twitter instead of somewhere that caters to a more traditional media audience reflects the platform’s importance for conservatives and, perhaps more importantly, allows DeSantis to bypass the media and have more control over his announcement.

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