The killing of U.S. troops in Jordan has reignited an "America First" foreign policy debate that — eight years into Donald Trump's takeover of the Republican Party — much of the GOP establishment still refuses to concede.

Why it matters: Republican hawks are urging President Biden to strike inside Iran in response to this weekend's drone attack by Iranian-backed militants. The White House hasn't ruled that out — stressing that the deadly attack "requires a response."

• Such a move could trigger exactly the kind of calamitous regional conflict that Biden has sought to avoid since Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 threw partisan alliances into chaos over the Middle East.
• Trump — who had a mixed track record on Iran and is seeking to unite the GOP ahead of a bruising 2024 campaign — has so far walked a tightrope, declining to say how he would act as commander in chief.

What they're saying: Prominent Trump supporters have focused much of their ire on the aggressive reaction from Republican hawks, casting them as part of the "military industrial complex."

• "F*cking lunatics," Tucker Carlson tweeted in response to Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) calling on Biden to strike Iran.
• Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy blasted Graham and Nikki Haley for "giddily calling" for war: "It's disgusting & says a lot about the kind of GOP they're trying to recreate," the former presidential candidate tweeted.
• "Is there anyone you don't want to bomb?" Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, tweeted at Graham.

The intrigue: Trump — who famously ordered the drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 — has been far more circumspect.

• Trump responded to this weekend's attack by claiming that it "would NEVER have happened" if he were president — and blaming Biden for both Oct. 7 and the war in Ukraine.
• Iranian-backed militias in Iraq continued to target U.S. troops in the nine months after the Soleimani killing, though the attacks were not "particularly lethal," according to one top general at the time.

What to watch: Trump stacked his top foreign policy posts with Iran hawks during his presidency, and he boasted yesterday that his "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign left Iran "weak, broke, and totally under control."

• But given the growing power of isolationists in the Republican Party, Trump's Cabinet likely would look very different in a second term.
• What's less clear is how the likes of Haley, Graham, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and others fit into an "America First" GOP that reviles their foreign policy views.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' behavior since suspending his presidential campaign a week ago has the hallmarks of a candidate who has learned from his mistakes — and is eyeing a course correction for a potential round two.

Why it matters: Republicans have privately and publicly marveled at how much more comfortable and effective DeSantis has appeared in his recent communications.

• Two days after dropping out, for example, DeSantis posted a selfie video with his young son Mason predicting the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers would face off in the Super Bowl.
• It was one of the most humanizing moments in a brutal year for the Florida governor (and, as DeSantis pointed out today, Mason's predictions were spot-on).

Zoom out: Despite endorsing Trump the previous day, DeSantis pulled no punches on the former president in his first interview since exiting the race last week.

• In another pair of selfie videos, DeSantis railed against the Senate's burgeoning border compromise and outlined the constitutional case for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott taking border enforcement into the state's hands.
• Today, DeSantis revealed that the Florida legislature is working to certify four amendments under Article V of the Constitution — including term limits for members of Congress and a balanced budget requirement.

The bottom line: DeSantis, who is only 45, seems determined to prove his potential leadership in a post-Trump GOP was not thoroughly squandered by his failed campaign.

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House Democrats today unveiled their initial list of top candidates in Republican-held or open House seats in 2024 — and the majority have previously served in or run for Congress, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

Why it matters: Democrats are wagering their fortunes on national trends in a presidential year they hope will push candidates across the finish line in districts where they fell short last cycle.

Driving the news: The DCCC added 17 candidates to their "Red to Blue" program, which provides strategic guidance, training and other resources to non-incumbent Democrats.

• A dozen of the candidates ran for their respective seats in 2022 or — in the case of former Reps. Mondaire Jones and Tom Suozzi of New York — previously represented their districts in Congress.
• Some lost their 2022 races by fractions of a percentage point, such as Adam Gray of California and Adam Frisch of Colorado, while others lost by decisive margins, such as Michelle Vallejo's 8.5-point loss in Texas.

The other side: "No one likes week-old crusty lasagna, but in desperate times you re-serve it while trying to convince your kids it's the greatest meal of their life," said NRCC spokesperson Will Reinert.

• "The same goes for the DCCC — these candidates were a flop last cycle, and no amount of spin will convince voters they are not too extreme to represent them in Congress."

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Here's a new one: Trump argued today that he — not Biden — should get credit for the stock market, claiming that investors have priced in his victory in November.

Why it matters: The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high today for the sixth time in seven trading days.

Reality check: The polls project an exceedingly close election, and there's no evidence Wall Street is operating under the assumption that Trump is the guaranteed winner.

Flashback: Trump predicted in October 2020 that the stock market would crash if Biden won the election.