With a House speaker now in place and the chamber able to pass legislation for the first time in weeks, lawmakers are using the opportunity to introduce long-awaited measures to censure and expel one another.
Why it matters: It's a manifestation of the growing bitterness between the two parties in Congress that only grew more tense during the speaker vacancy and the escalating Israel-Hamas war.
The House GOP's honeymoon won't last long after the election of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and some think it might take a new batch of Republicans to restore long-term peace.
Why it matters: Republicans privately acknowledge it will be extremely difficult for some members to get past the new grudges created during the 22-day speaker vacancy.
A group of freshman House Republicans from New York on Thursday forced a vote on a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from the House.
Why it matters: The rare instance of lawmakers trying to kick a member of their own party out of Congress signifies the distinct political peril Santos faces as a result of his federal criminal prosecution.
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an instrumental election denier for ally former President Trump, reflects a shift that's taken shape in the Republican party.
Why it matters: While 147 House Republicans voted to overturn the 2020 election results, Johnson took took additional steps to try to subvert them.
Georgia legislators will hold a special session next month to redraw several congressional districts after a federal judge ruled they violated the Voting Rights Act.
The latest: The ruling, issued Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones, said the boundaries in violation are Districts 3, 6, 11, 13, and 14.
The Texas House on Thursday passed a bill that will allow local police to arrest migrants who illegally cross the border.
The big picture: The legislation – which expands on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's $4 billion border security push dubbed Operation Lone Star – challenges the federal government's authority on immigration.
President Biden's approval rating among Democrats has plummeted to a record low of 75% — down a staggering 11 percentage points over just the last month, according to a new Gallup poll conducted between Oct. 2 and Oct. 23.
Why it matters: Biden is at risk of alienating members of his own party with his unequivocal support for Israel, which has carried out a weeks-long bombardment and total siege of Gaza in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
A Colorado judge — once again — denied former President Trump's attempt to throw out a lawsuit that would prohibit him from being on the state's 2024 presidential ballot, per a Wednesday court filing.
Why it matters: The trial, just days away from starting, adds to the growing number of challenges the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner faces in his bid for another four years in the White House.
Shootings at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, have left at least 18 people dead and 13 injured in the deadliest mass shooting of 2023 thus far.
The big picture: Mass shootings are becoming deadlier and far more common. There were a total of eleven shootings in which at least 12 people died between 1949 and 2011. There have been 14 since then — more than one per year — including the 2017 shooting at a Las Vegas hotel that left 60 dead.
Special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday called for the narrow gag order against former President Trump in the 2020 federal election case to be reinstated, citing Trump's attacks on former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Why it matters: Trump's "recent social media posts targeting a known witness in this case in an attempt to influence and intimidate him" underscore the need to lift a temporary stay on the order, Smith wrote in a court filing Wednesday.
New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) didn't have a national profile until this week, but his 20-year paper trail is an opposition researcher's dream.
Why it matters: Johnson is one of the most socially conservative speakers in modern memory — often far to the right of former President Trump — and Democrats are ready to make him a central figure in their 2024 campaigns.
President Biden is signaling for the first time what his plan would be for the day afterthe war in Gaza — a new generation of peace talks in the Middle East on a "two-state solution" in which Israel would co-exist with a Palestinian state.
Why it matters: Biden's call for a "concentrated effort" to begin talking about a two-state solution represents a pivot for the president.
President Biden is making subtle overtures to newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), indicating that he's willing to look past his election-denialism to keep the government open and provide funding for Ukraine and Israel.
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