The Playbook Podcast

Rep. Jim Jordan has a press conference at 8 a.m. and another speaker vote scheduled for 10 a.m. Will 217 members of the Republican conference back him? Unlikely — but we’ll be watching. Plus, President Biden used his Oval Office address last night to forcefully advocate for aiding both Israel and Ukraine. National security reporter Alex Ward breaks it down with Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels.

The House is still without a Speaker after Rep. Jim Jordan once again failed to receive the 217 votes necessary to secure the gavel. Rather than continuing with a second vote after the Ohio Republican’s first failed ballot on Tuesday, Jordan used the time to attempt to flip more members of his own party to yes votes. Instead, he received an additional two ‘nos’ bringing the total on Wednesday to 2...

After failing well short of the necessary 217 votes, Rep. Jim Jordan scrambled yesterday to rescue his campaign for House speaker. But with a whopping 20 members of his own party breaking ranks, he's got serious work to do ahead of a second floor vote scheduled for 11 a.m. today. Playbook co-author Rachael Bade and Editor Mike DeBonis discuss whether Jordan has any hope of salvaging his bid for th...

In an unexpected turn of events, Rep. Jim Jordan has become the favorite to claim the Speaker’s gavel after an unprecedented number of initial detractors say they will flip their votes in favor of the Ohio Republican. A final vote for the new Speaker is expected Wednesday. Plus, President Biden will make a rare wartime visit to Israel to show support as the county prepares a ground invasion of Gaz...

A little over a week into the conflict playing out in Israel and Gaza, the impact on Washington is becoming more clear. President Biden may try to visit Israel in the near future if the violence subsides long enough to make it safe. The administration has also sent a request to Congress for an aid package to both Israel and Ukraine. But as National Security reporter Alex Ward tells Playbook co-aut...

Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise shocked colleagues and reporters by pulling out of the race to become the next speaker — a little more than 24 hours after clinching the GOP’s nomination. What now? Congressional reporter and Huddle author Daniella Diaz walks Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels through some possibilities of what could come next in the speaker-less House. Playbook co-aut...

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise clinched the GOP’s nomination for speaker of the house Wednesday. But that doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing from here: Not long after, members of his own party began coming out of the woodwork to say they would not back the Louisiana congressman’s run for the gavel. Playbook co-author Rachael Bade explains why those in Scalise’s corner say there’s no reason to giv...

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Republicans will cast blind ballots for the person they want to be nominated to assume the Speaker of the House role left vacant after Kevin McCarthy’s ousting last month. In one scenario, things could proceed simply with the Representative who receives the most votes seamlessly assuming the gavel in due time. But, a last minute a push for a rules change to try to raise the t...

A weekend of carnage after Hamas launched an attack on Israel, and the country in turn declared war on Palestinian-populated Gaza, disrupted international diplomacy for the foreseeable future. Though the events in the Middle East are just beginning to unfold, National Security Reporter Alex Ward tells Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza officials on the Hill—from the Oval Office, to Congress, to the cam...

Late Thursday night, former President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become speaker of the House — ending far-fetched speculation about a possible Trump run while dousing the campaign to succeed Kevin McCarthy with rocket fuel. Until that moment, it was unclear how the former president would approach the vacancy. Trump had previously mentioned that he was planning a visit to Capito...

With Kevin McCarthy dethroned, House Republicans are mired in a frantic search for someone to fill the leadership vacuum. On Wednesday, two big names threw their hats in the ring: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Another name in the conversation: former President Donald Trump, the subject of a hard-right pipe dream that imagines him ending up wit...

For the first time in history, a Speaker of the House was ousted. Yesterday, Kevin McCarthy’s tumultuous time as Speaker came to an end after every Democrat joined Rep. Matt Gaetz and seven others voted to take away his gavel. Rep. Patrick McHenry is serving as temporary Speaker and McCarthy has confirmed he will not run again, but beyond that, not much is clear as the territory is entirely unchar...

Laphonza Butler is well known in Democratic circles. Her resume includes roles as a regent on the board of the University of California, president of the California SEIU, and most recently the third president of EMILY’s List. But with her appointment to the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat this afternoon, her profile is about to get far more public. It also means she has mere weeks to decide if...

Capitol Hill is lurching from one crisis to the next. Congressman Matt Gaetz announced yesterday that he plans to file a motion to vacate against Speaker Kevin McCarthy this week. Plus, former President Donald Trump is expected to attend the opening of the civil trial in the New York attorney general’s fraud case against him. And California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to appoint Laphonza But...

Barring something genuinely surprising, the federal government will shut down in a little more than 24 hours’ time, as House Republicans show no sign of being able to pass the appropriations bills that have vexed them for weeks. Now, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy takes the blame, there are growing whispers that conservative hard-liners will launch an audacious gambit to oust him and replace him...

As the 2024 GOP hopefuls gathered in California to debate, the barbs aimed at Donald Trump were more pointed, the elbows thrown at one another were sharper, and all in all, the moderators let the exchanges careen out of control. And yet, for all of that, the debate largely fell flat: Nobody’s performance was strong enough to touch Trump’s massive polling lead. What exactly happened? Playbook co-au...

Candidates vying for the Republican nomination for president will once again take the stage to debate tonight, this time in California. But Donald Trump, whose lead continues to grow, says he once again will not attend. Electrifying performances in August did not translate to bumps in poll numbers; could that change this round? Plus, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is still trying to keep the governm...

After a press conference that provided few answers about the federal charges leveled against him, Sen. Bob Menendez now must face a jury of his peers. Only three of his Democratic colleagues in Washington have called for his resignation, but as New Jersey Playbook author Matthew Friedman tells Ryan Lizza, it's a whole different story back home in New Jersey. We'll be on Cory Booker watch. Plus, Pr...

As the clock ticks down, Kevin McCarthy is still trying to wrangle his fellow Republicans toward avoiding a government shutdown. But there seems to be no straightforward solution for the House speaker. Even if a shutdown is avoided, Playbook co-author Rachael Bade explains, something else seems inevitable: a challenge to McCarthy’s gavel. Plus, on the schedule for this week: the first Biden impeac...

A government shutdown appears inevitable as the clock winds down with little progress evident on the bills necessary to keep the government open. It’s so dire that Speaker Kevin McCarthy is seemingly unable to rally House Republicans on even the smallest necessary procedural matters. Where do we go from here? Congress reporter Daniella Diaz talks to Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza about the road ahe...

Republicans emerged from a meeting on Capitol Hill last night confident in their ability to move forward on critical spending bills that would keep the government funded and open. But, as Playbook co-author Rachael Bade explains, that optimism may be short-lived as GOP infighting is likely to derail the legislation. Plus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington tomorrow to presen...

As the clock ticks closer to a government shutdown, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is struggling to pass a bill that would keep the government open, and the White House is not going to come to his rescue, reporter Jennifer Haberkorn tells Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels. Plus, a preview of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s comments to the House Judiciary Committee. That, and all of the news you n...

With a number of other world leaders skipping the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, President Joe Biden has the opportunity to take the spotlight. He is expected to push a message of democracy and encourage more funding for humanitarian aid for Ukraine. But, as senior foreign correspondent Nahal Toosi tells Playbook co-author Rachael Bade, there is plenty more to keep an eye o...

House Republicans spent the weekend trying to find common ground on a stopgap spending bill that could unite them against Democrats ahead of a potential government shutdown on Oct. 1. But with multiple Republican lawmakers already voicing their opposition, its chances of passing the House are already fading. Plus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Capitol Hill.

At midnight, the UAW’s roughly 150,000 members went on strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — the first time ever that the union has targeted all three companies simultaneously in a labor action that threatens to rattle national politics. Though the more immediate issues at play are higher wages wages and better benefits, the broader implications for President Joe Biden — who has yet...