John,

As I type this I’m waiting to hear when we’re going to vote on the next Speaker. The GOP is holding it up because they can’t get the 217 votes they need so we can get back to work. 

Earlier today, Republicans held a closed door meeting that showed how divided they really are. They took a secret vote where Steve Scalise got 113 votes and Jim Jordan got 99 - neither total is close to the amount needed to win.

Now the House is out of session until the Republicans figure out what they’re going to do next. I’m sure it’s going to involve a lot more closed door meetings with MAGA extremists like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene - and Steve Scalise will have to promise everything under the sun to get their votes. 

Look, it took Kevin McCarthy 15 rounds of voting to become Speaker of the House. I remember because I voted against him all 15 times. It’s not going to be a cake walk for Steve Scalise or Jim Jordan either - the Republicans have given too much power to Donald Trump and the MAGA wing of their party. 

Democrats are united and we need your help to take back the House from MAGA extremists. If you can chip in to help us win my competitive race, I’ll leave a link here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/JHCA-09-Email-Oct2023-FR-October

Maybe I’ll have an update in a bit? We’ll see…
Josh