By Eli Okun

JUST IN — Alex Ward: “Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza is ‘imminent,’ two Israeli officials said Friday, confirming that the much-anticipated operation will happen in the coming hours or days.”

THIS, TOO — “White House calls top lawmakers over to discuss Israel aid package,” by Adam Cancryn and Jennifer Haberkorn: “The group of lawmakers is expected to include top House appropriators and leaders of the Foreign Affairs committee … Rep. PATRICK McHENRY, who is serving as the acting House speaker, will also join the meeting.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is in the driver’s seat here, but finding 217 votes could be tough. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

SPEAKER NOW — Can Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) get to 217 votes for the speakership? Can anyone? House Republicans’ next candidate forum is kicking off now, but Jordan won’t have it to himself: Rep. AUSTIN SCOTT (R-Ga.) just announced that he’s running to lead the House, too.

“We are in Washington to legislate, and I want to lead a House that functions in the best interest of the American people,” Scott wrote on X.

If you’re asking yourself, “Who’s Austin Scott?” right now, you’re not alone. The seven-term lawmaker is a mainstream conservative with a low profile, ascending to a senior position on the House Agriculture Committee but otherwise staying out of the House GOP’s hottest fights.

Jordan is in the driver’s seat here, but having Scott as an alternative will provide a gauge of how deep the opposition to the conservative firebrand runs. Another possible contender, Rep. MIKE JOHNSON (R-La.) announced that he wouldn’t run, instead backing Jordan. And House Majority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) is staying put, though he’s waiting in the wings if Jordan falls short, per CNN.

There were some signs today of gathering momentum behind Jordan: NRCC Chair RICHARD HUDSON (R-N.C.) endorsed his bid, saying it was a mistake to remove KEVIN McCARTHY and reject STEVE SCALISE but that Republicans need to come together now. McCarthy told reporters he’s supporting Jordan. Rep. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-S.D.), chair of the pragmatic Main Street Caucus, plans to give Jordan’s nomination speech, per CNN’s Melanie Zanona. And Rep. MIKE SIMPSON (R-Idaho) moved out of the “Never Jordan” camp to saying he’d back Jordan if he’s the nominee.

But finding an outright majority will still be a high bar for Jordan to clear. Reps. MIKE ROGERS (R-Ala.) and JOHN RUTHERFORD (R-Fla.) say they’re firmly against Jordan, no matter what. Rep. VERN BUCHANAN (R-Fla.) is withholding his support for now, saying, “I don’t like the way this whole thing has played out.” Per a running spreadsheet from CNN’s Haley Talbot, there are still more than enough Jordan opponents to tank him on the floor.

Jordan and Scott may have some time to twist arms: Acting Speaker PATRICK McHENRY told the conference today that just 209 of 221 Republicans were in attendance, so they may not have enough members in town to take this to the House floor yet, though Democrats are preparing for a potential floor vote as soon as today.

Earlier today, the conference once again rejected an attempt to raise the threshold for sending a speaker pick to the House floor to 217, Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney report via Inside Congress Live. That would have kept the fight behind closed doors; instead the messy pathway to getting a majority on the floor will unfold in public, once Jordan or Scott (or somebody else) secures a majority of Republicans’ support.

CLIMATE FILES — The Biden administration’s major investments in clean hydrogen production are kicking off in a big way today with the announcement of seven regional hubs getting $7 billion in grants, WSJ’s Scott Patterson and Amrith Ramkumar report. The move aims to ignite the novel sector in the U.S. with grants funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law and tax credits created in the Inflation Reduction Act. President JOE BIDEN will tout the new investments at his event in Philadelphia today.

This is one Biden climate action that Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) can get behind: He celebrated the selection of Appalachia as one of the hubs.

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AMERICA AND THE WORLD

ISRAEL LATEST — Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER is headed to Israel this weekend, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod scooped. Along with other senators, he’ll meet with PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, President ISAAC HERZOG, BENNY GANTZ and others.

On the ground: The U.N. warned Israel that its call for more than 1 million people to evacuate northern Gaza will lead to “a calamitous situation” if Israel doesn’t back down from what’s expected to be a massive ground invasion, WSJ’s Chao Deng, Gordon Lubold and Fatima Abdulkarim report. The threat of overwhelming civilian casualties looms if Israel stays the course, humanitarian groups warned, as panic spreads among millions of people trapped in Gaza. Gazan officials said it would be impossible to evacuate many hospitalized patients.

Inside the White House: Biden talked virtually today with family members of U.S. citizens who are being held hostage by Hamas, along with other U.S. officials, the White House said.

Many administration staffers with ties to Israel and Jewish communities have felt shaken by Hamas’ murderous rampage, trying to work through their grief while keeping daily White House functions going, NBC’s Peter Nicholas, Monica Alba, Peter Alexander and Megan Lebowitz report. And the war feels very personal for Biden himself.

The U.S. response: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN wouldn’t answer directly a question about whether the U.S. would “take pre-emptive action” against Hezbollah, per the WSJ. “I will just tell you clearly that the United States will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself,” he said in Tel Aviv.

— “Stunning State Department Memo Warns Diplomats: No Gaza ‘De-Escalation’ Talk,” by HuffPost’s Akbar Shahid Ahmed: “As Israel escalates its offensive, U.S. diplomats are being discouraged from publicly using three phrases that would urge calm.”

RAJIV SHAH’S LESSONS FOR UKRAINE AID — “Obama’s Aid Chief Has Some Surprising Ideas for How to Win Over Republicans,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Michael Schaffer

DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — National security officials are training fresh attention on a spurt of Chinese Bitcoin mines that have cropped up across the U.S., NYT’s Gabriel Dance and Michael Forsythe report. One Cheyenne, Wyo., operation near an Air Force base and a Microsoft data center has elicited scrutiny and actions from U.S. officials. Startling stat: “The Times identified Chinese-owned or -operated Bitcoin mines that together use as much energy as 1.5 million homes.”

GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.

2024 WATCH

MARK YOUR CALENDARS — The Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit will feature DONALD TRUMP, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, NIKKI HALEY, MIKE PENCE, Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.), CHRIS CHRISTIE, North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM and VIVEK RAMASWAMY, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped. They’ll all duke it out with appearances before the crowd at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Oct. 28.

VEEPSTAKES — Rep. NANCY MACE (R-S.C.) has been telling people that “she has a real shot” at being Trump’s VP pick, The Daily Beast’s Jake Lahut and Sam Brodey scooped. But a Trump world source calls the idea absurd.

CONGRESS

YOWZA — ADAM ABUSALAH, the former comms director for Rep. SHRI THANEDAR (D-Mich.), sent out a rip-roaring thread on X last night slamming the congressman as shallow, racist, unethical and a bad boss, concluding with this: “He’s the most ignorant, self-centered, and uninformed human I’ve ever worked with. And if you’re wondering, yes, his hair is fake, and he killed the monkeys and beagles.” Thanedar’s current chief of staff responded today with a statement to The Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke: “These untrue allegations are clearly a direct response to Congressman Thanedar’s principled stance in support of Israel’s right to self-defense and against the brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas.”

MADAME SENATOR — Sen. LAPHONZA BUTLER (D-Calif.) is kicking off her tenure with a big California swing, including a celebrity-filled event in LA today and meetings with top labor and health care leaders, Lara Korte reports in California Playbook.

THE NEW FACES OF CONGRESS — Butler is only the most recent of a wave of Black, queer leaders arriving on the Hill or in prominent activist roles, AP’s Ayanna Alexander reports. “I am not shy or bashful about who I am and who my family is. So, my hope is that I have lived out loud enough to overcome the tactics of today,” Butler says. “But we don’t know yet what the tactics of erasure are for tomorrow.”

TALES FROM THE CRYPTO — “How Elizabeth Warren is making Hamas crypto’s latest Washington woe,” by Jasper Goodman

JUDICIARY SQUARE

NOT SO FAST — After Trump granted clemency to convicted health care fraudster PHILIP ESFORMES at the end of his presidency thanks to a lobbying campaign from his well-placed allies, the Biden Justice Department is seeking to retry him, WaPo’s Beth Reinhard, Manuel Roig-Franzia and Alice Crites report. It’s an unprecedented legal and political clash putting the far right against law-and-order institutionalists. Prosecutors say they can do it without violating double jeopardy because Trump’s clemency order didn’t mention the counts on which a jury didn’t reach a verdict.

POLICY CORNER

THEY’RE WATCHING — “How Ads on Your Phone Can Aid Government Surveillance,” by WSJ’s Byron Tau, Andrew Mollica, Patience Haggin and Dustin Volz: “The Wall Street Journal identified a network of brokers and advertising exchanges whose data was flowing from apps to Defense Department and intelligence agencies through a company called Near Intelligence.”

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JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

AFTERNOON READ — “The Online Sleuths Who Helped the FBI Track Down January 6 Insurrectionists,” by Ryan Reilly in POLITICO Magazine, adapted from his new book, “Sedition Hunters” ($32.50): “Inside the network of sedition hunters driving the largest investigation in FBI history.”

PLAYBOOKERS

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the International Student House 2023 Global Leadership Awards Gala on Wednesday night: CIA Director Bill Burns, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Kathy “Coach” Kemper, Lisa Barry, Daniel Bremer-Wirtig, Jim and Janet Blanchard, Barbara Slavin, Tonija Hope and James Gale.

— SPOTTED celebrating Precision Strategies’ 10-year anniversary at Long View Gallery last night, alongside Partners Stephanie Cutter, Teddy Goff, Mike Spahn and Tom Reno: Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) and Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Jen O’Malley Dillon and Patrick Dillon, Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini, Mike and Trish Donilon, Michael Scherer, Susanna Quinn, Jennifer Griffin, Gloria Riviera, Lois Romano, Ben LaBolt, Rob Flaherty and Karine Jean-Pierre.

— The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino hosted a reception for Mexican musical artist Alejandro Fernández, in honor of his legacy and work to aid the creation of the museum, on the Hill last night. SPOTTED: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Marco Davis, Estuardo Rodríguez, Brian Garcia, Leo Mendoza, Ruby Robles and Liz Lopez.

— SPOTTED at Cafe Milano yesterday for the National Italian American Foundation’s pre-gala VIP dinner: Veronica Bocelli, Justice Samuel Alito, Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Anita McBride, John Calvelli and Anthony O’Boyle.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Soledad Cedro is now comms director for immigration for Stand Together. She most recently was comms director for Francis Suarez’s presidential campaign and for the Miami mayor.

WHITE HOUSE MOVE — Trisha Ann Castaneda is now chief of staff and policy adviser for the Gender Policy Council. She most recently was adviser to the OMB director.

TRANSITIONS — Eric Ransom has rejoined Crowell & Moring as a partner in its government contracts group. He most recently was director and associate general counsel of Scale AI, and is a GAO and Senate Rules alum. … Casey Enders is now consultant for strategic partnerships and initiatives at Pivotal Ventures. She most recently was lead strategist of an independent management consultancy. … Olivia Kirchberg is now staff director for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness and policy adviser to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). She previously was a legislative assistant for Carper, and is a Ron Kind alum.

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Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misstated Benjamin Netanyahu’s title. He is the Israeli PM.

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