Axios PM

January 06, 2023
Happy Friday afternoon β we made it! Today's PM, edited by Kate Nocera, is 426 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.
1 big thing: Close but no speaker

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy finally pulled some detractors his way today: 15 previous Republican holdouts flipped their votes to support him for speaker during the 12th and 13th rounds of voting.
- McCarthy needs a simple majority. The House is adjourned until 10 p.m., when two McCarthy supporters β Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) and Rep.-elect Wesley Hunt (Texas) β are expected back in D.C., CNN reports.
With Buck and Hunt returning, McCarthy will still need to pick off two of the dug-in rebels.

There are still a few big holdouts: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.), and Rep.-elect Eli Crane (Ariz.).
- Gaetz likely won't be among those who flip β after calling McCarthy the "LeBron James of special interest fundraising" on the floor today, as he nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
The bottom line: As of this afternoon, McCarthy still isn't Speaker of the House. But it was the first major breakthrough after days of stalemate.
- Each time a member switched to McCarthy, Republicans cheered to mark the momentum.
2. β±οΈ 140 seconds of silence

Members of Congress met solemnly on the Capitol steps this morning for a ceremony to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, AP reports.
- House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) led the group in 140 seconds of silence β one for each officer injured defending the building that day.
Today's group was made up of almost entirely Democrats, along with family members of officers who died in the days after the insurrection.
- No Republicans spoke at the event.
3. Catch up quick

- π Above: People get ready to sled today on a slope covered in artificial snow, with grass covering the rest of the hill in Filzmoos, Austria. The Alpine slopes are facing a snow shortage during an unseasonably warm winter, AP reports.
- Police are investigating multiple shootings at the homes and offices of elected Democratic officials in New Mexico, Axios' Herb Scribner reports.
- The FDA granted fast-track approval to a new Alzheimer's drug that clinical trials showed can slow the progression of the disease. Go deeper.
- π The Bills tweeted that Damar Hamlin FaceTimed into a team meeting today and told players and coaches: "Love you boys!"
4. π 1 snack to go

Siberian tigers line up to get fed by visitors on a bus today at the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, in China's northeastern Heilongjiang province.
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