By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo

With help from Jason Beeferman

The ousting of Kevin McCarthy from his post as House speaker could cause issues for New York Republicans in battleground districts. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

With Kevin McCarthy out as House speaker, the leadership fight will serve as a new headache to freshman Republicans in New York seeking to be reelected and keep their party in power.

“I think it hurts our ability to do the job we told the American people we were going to do,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told Playbook when asked if the historic ouster will hurt her Republican colleagues. “We should be fighting with the Senate, not with each other.”

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of Long Island is one of the half dozen New York Republicans being targeted by Democrats next year.

Like Malliotakis, he blamed Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz for Tuesday’s chaos on Capitol Hill, saying the “egomaniac” doesn’t represent the vast majority of conservatives.

“He literally cast votes today with every single member of The Squad,” D’Esposito told Playbook.

Asked about potential election fallout, the freshman Congress member contended Democrats still have the weaker case because they’re stuck in a “circular firing squad” over the migrant crisis while Republicans are “united” on reining in wasteful spending, securing the southern border and other issues.

McCarthy, a California Republican, was expected to play a major role in helping defend key seats in New York, where he’s been staunchly supported by the state’s GOP delegation. And he’s made several fundraising trips this year to help vulnerable members in the Empire State.

Democrats were already pouncing on the Washington tumult.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, a freshman from the Hudson Valley, is trying to cajole Republicans to support Brooklyn’s own Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, for speaker — a seemingly unlikely prospect. Ryan, whose seat is being targeted by Republicans, expects voters will know where blame lies for the dysfunction.

“We owe it to folks to explain and make clear what got us to this point: It's been from literally Day One chaos, division and dysfunction,” he told Playbook. “That's specifically because of a MAGA-dominated majority.”

Still, there appeared little appetite among Republicans to strike a deal with Democrats like Ryan.

No matter who emerges from the wreckage of Tuesday’s vote, state Conservative Party Chair Gerry Kassar told Playbook he doesn’t expect the basic math facing the GOP in the closely divided House will be altered.

Republicans hold 11 of the state’s 26 House districts after a better-than-expected showing last year in New York. To keep the House majority, Republicans will need to retain seats in the Hudson Valley, Central New York and on Long Island.

“I would not suggest to you what occurred today is good for New York,” Kassar said.

House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who is leading a $100 million campaign to retain and grow the House GOP delegation in her home state, is among those on a short list of speaker candidates.

Malliotakis wasn’t ready to endorse Stefanik — or anyone.

“There’s been no names that have been brought up right now,” the Staten Island Republican said. “It’s just really raw, we’re trying to let it sink in, what just happened.”

IT’S WEDNESDAY. Thanks for reading! Got news? Send it our way: Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo.

WHERE’S KATHY? Doing an interview on NY1 at 8 a.m. and then joining UAW members on the picket line in Rockland County.

WHERE’S ERIC? Visiting Queens to survey recent flood damage and resiliency infrastructure, flying to Mexico for his four-day Latin America trip, speaking at a dinner with Mexican business leaders in the country’s capital, visiting the city’s Basílica de Guadalupe.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I will not tolerate them in any circumstances” – Justice Arthur Engoron on issuing a gag order Tuesday barring former President Donald Trump from making public comments about court staff.

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

Nancy Goroff is once again running for the 1st Congressional District on the east end of Long Island. | Dan Goodrich

GOROFF GIVES IT ANOTHER GO: Nancy Goroff, a Democrat who challenged former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin in 2020, is launching a 2024 campaign Wednesday for the same 1st Congressional District on the east end of Long Island.

The seat is currently held by GOP Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the six New York Republican freshmen who won in a 2022 red wave. But the Suffolk County district voted narrowly for Biden in 2020, and Democrats are putting their full weight into flipping the seat.

“We are seeing that Congress has a huge amount of dysfunction, and our elected representative seems to be more interested in soundbites than actually getting things done,” Goroff told Playbook in an exclusive interview ahead of her launch.

Goroff is a chemist — a retired professor at Stony Brook— and is wealthy. Her ex-husband worked at the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, and her 2020 campaign raised an eye-popping $7.9 million, with $2.2 million of that coming out of her own wallet.

So, her fundraising ability might be part of her pitch in the primary. Jim Gaughran, a former state senator, has already filed to run. So has Craig Herskowitz, a former assistant counsel to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Race raters like the Cook Political Report give LaLota the best shot at reelection among the six targeted Republicans in New York. But LaLota is not holding back on Goroff, calling her in a statement a “Defund the Police Democrat” while he’s “a common-sense conservative focused on making Long Island more affordable and the border more secure." — Jeff Coltin

Migrants sit outside The Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown. Mayor Eric Adams' administration submitted a court document Tuesday night which described how it wants to change the city's right-to-shelter rule. | John Minchillo/AP Photo

MOTION TO VACATE: The Adams administration filed a hotly anticipated court document late Tuesday outlining exactly how it wants to modify the right to shelter, which guarantees a city-funded bed for anyone in need. It turns out, the mayor wants to nix the requirement altogether during times of emergency (like the current migrant influx).

“The city requires immediate relief with respect to the most intractable aspect of the present crisis — the global perception that the [law] extends a blanket right to obtain city-provided shelter to the world at large,” Assistant Corporation Counsel Daniel Perez wrote to the judge, referencing asylum seekers coming to New York City from countries in Central and South America and beyond.

Instead, the city wants to be governed by the state’s shelter rules, which do not guarantee a bed for all.

The request, which will now be mulled over by the court, did not sit well with advocates. They said it would allow the city to deny shelter to low-income New Yorkers as well as migrants.

“This abhorrent and unnecessary maneuver is a betrayal of the city’s commitment towards ensuring that no one is relegated to living — or dying — on the streets of our city,” the Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless said in a joint statement.  — Joe Anuta

More from the city:

— Adams will head to Latin America with a message for migrants: Don’t come to NYC (POLITICO)

— Republican City Council candidate Jonathan Rinaldi has repeatedly harassed elected officials, to the point where the police have been called on him multiple times. (City & State)

— Adams has personally lashed out at many of the critics of his administration. (The New York Times)

Paul Francis, who advised many New York governors, is launching a health care-based think tank. | AP Photo

FRANCIS’ NEXT ACT: Paul Francis, a longtime adviser to multiple governors, is launching a think tank.

Francis is forming Step Two, a health care-based policy organization that will develop “innovative but practical solutions,” according to an announcement shared with Playbook.

“At Step Two, we will seek to leverage our extensive experience with these issues to develop actionable proposals that if implemented would significantly improve the lives of New Yorkers,” he said.

Sally Dreslin, a health policy advisor in former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration, will serve as the group’s executive director. — Nick Reisman

More from Albany:

— The president of New York’s umbrella teachers’ union has called for a reduced emphasis on Regents examinations. (Newsday)

— First lady Jill Biden will be visiting the Hudson Valley on Friday. (NY1)

— Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon raised questions with efforts to make it easier for migrants to find jobs. (Syracuse.com)

Up to 1,500 marijuana business licenses could be awarded by the state during its adult-use licensing period. | Mary Altaffer/AP Photo

NEW YORK OPENS FOR LICENSING: New York opens its adult-use licensing period today. Applications for this round are due by 5 p.m. Dec. 4.

Regulators could award nearly 1,500 licenses, with half reserved for social equity applicants like service-disabled veterans, women-and-minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs from areas disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement. Such applicants will get 50 percent of their fees waived.

The state’s medical marijuana operators will be able to apply for licenses to serve the adult-use market starting Oct. 31.

“Everybody will have an opportunity,” Axel Bernabe, former chief of staff at the Office of Cannabis Management, said in an interview. “That should take pressure off the court case.”

The case has blocked dispensary licensees from opening up shop since early August.

Bernabe has some news of his own: After announcing his departure during the last Cannabis Control Board meeting, one of the chief architects of New York’s cannabis program has joined the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as a partner.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: New York City’s Department of Small Business Services is launching a free educational program for cannabis entrepreneurs. The FastTrac program, a 10-session course, “will set New York City’s legal cannabis industry on the course to be the most successful,” SBS Commissioner Kevin Kim said in a statement. — Mona Zhang

Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of new episodes – click here.

— Former Mayor Bill de Blasio is headed from Brooklyn to Manhattan, but he still plans to go to the YMCA in Park Slope. (NY1)

— Two former colleagues are battling each other in a “feisty” race for Ulster County district attorney. (Times Union)

— Central Park’s Great Lawn will be partially closed until April due to damage from the Global Citizens Festival. (Daily News)

MEDIAWATCH: “Scoop: Meta news leader Campbell Brown exits company, marking end of era,” by Axios’ Sara Fischer 

— Amy Fiscus is joining The Washington Post as deputy national editor. She was deputy editor of The Morning at The New York Times. The announcement

— Kyle Pope, who has been editor and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review since 2016, is leaving to join Covering Climate Now, an organization that works with newsrooms and reporters to emphasize climate coverage. More from The Associated Press

MAKING MOVES: Molly Eisner is now director at the Levinson Group. She was communications manager at the Financial Times and is an NBCUniversal alum.

OUT AND ABOUT: Semafor Business and Finance Editor Liz Hoffman hosted the news organization’s inaugural business summit at Genesis House in Meatpacking Tuesday night, including a reception featuring Korean-inspired cocktails and a menu crafted by Michelin-starred chefs.

SPOTTED: Mayor Eric Adams, who said the White House is “wrong” on immigration, The Wall Street Journal's Emma Tucker, Mark Wiedman, Scott Rechler, Liz Hoffman, Justin Smith, Ben Smith, Gary Cohn, Lynn Martin, Max Tani, Brian Stelter, Dan Colarusso, Jim Clifton, Rebecca Blumenstein, Charlotte Kein, Lachlan Cartwright, Katie Robertson, Steve Rubenstein, Jay Lauf, Peter Kafka, Margot Edelman, Brian Morrissey, Emma Fitzsimmons, Katherine Finnerty, Marie Beaudette, Rob Copeland, Cara Lombardo, Jon Levine, Joshua Chaffin and Charles Gasparino.

— Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo hosted U.S. and world leaders for the Inaugural Summit of the Institute of Global Politics Tuesday.

SPOTTED: Stacey Abrams, Maria Yovanovitch, John Sullivan, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Larry Hogan, Jacinda Ardern, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Maria Ressa, Jack Lew, Tim Wu, Andrea Mitchell and Debora Cahn.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Norm Pearlstine … Steve Capus (6-0) … AP’s Holly Ramer … Laura Cederberg of Weber Shandwick … ABC’s Santina Leuci … Kristen Askin 

WAS TUESDAY: Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt

— Only one-quarter of New York’s workers are returning to the office on some days of the week, as part of widespread office vacancy trends in major U.S. cities post-pandemic. (The Wall Street Journal)

— The Hamptons weekend-home market is experiencing a lively fall, while listings and contract signings on the North Fork have lulled. (The Real Deal)

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