It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

THE STAKES RISE
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
 
The choppy waves on the south side of the U.S. Capitol, where the House sits, now could affect an urgent crisis elsewhere. 
 
The Israel-Hamas war has introduced a new dimension to the fight for House speaker.
 
Here’s what we know.
 
Israel’s possible requests and needs 

• The U.S. has already begun sending military aid, including munitions and equipment, to Israel, per National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. U.S. officials expect additional and urgent requests ahead.
• The problem: Right now, Congress is not able to pass any new legislation that has not already made it out of the House. 
• Why is this? The House does not have a permanent speaker. 
• But what about the temporary speaker? Good question. See below. 

• Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., is currently the head of the House as “speaker pro tempore.” Latin scholars know of course that “pro tem” means “for now” or “for the time being.” It is temporary. (If only politics itself could be “pro tem.”) 
• Notably, McHenry is also appointed. He is in the position due to a post-Sept. 11 rule change that directs House speakers to put together a list of people to step in to fill the position temporarily if it becomes vacant. (See “Vacancy” section in this nice summary of House rules in this area.) Speaker McCarthy named McHenry to be his successor in this situation. 
• These two things mean McHenry’s power is limited. He only “may exercise such authorities of the Office of Speaker as may be necessary and appropriate pending the election of a Speaker or Speaker pro tempore,” according to House rules.
• What does that mean? The truth is no one is certain. It is debatable.  
• But for the moment most House Republican members, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who sits on the House Rules Committee, believe McHenry cannot bring any legislation to the floor.

• This is, you guessed it, another unknown.
• House Republicans meet tonight to hear from the two declared candidates: Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Steve Scalise, R-La. 
• Neither candidate is likely to run into the same math problem as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. A speaker needs a majority of the House, currently 217 votes if all members are present. Republicans have 221 members, meaning all but four must support the same candidate. 
• There are some possible twists here, including whether Republicans hash this out on the floor of the House or behind closed doors. But either way, that will be a very tough number to reach.  

This could add days to the limbo in the House. If not more.