October 2023

On Tuesday, the House is set to conduct a crucial vote on the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position. This follows the unsuccessful attempt to table Representative Matt Gaetz’s resolution, as it failed to garner sufficient support from fellow Republicans. The failure of the motion to table has raised concerns for McCarthy, who has served as speaker for just under nine months. The House Republican leadership had aimed to quash this motion in order to suppress dissent among some Republican members, notably including Gaetz. The vote, which was announced by GOP Rep. Tom Emmer, took place on Tuesday afternoon. In a surprising turn of events, eleven Republicans chose to vote against tabling the motion, leaving the GOP without the majority required to quash Gaetz’s resolution. This development is significant because the Speaker of the House not only leads the chamber but also holds the second-in-line position for the presidency. The prospect of removing a sitting speaker through a vote during a congressional term is without precedent in American history. McCarthy’s supporters have cautioned that such a move could establish a worrisome precedent that would influence future speakers. Despite these arguments, Democrats have not rallied to McCarthy’s defense.

Serbia’s president denied reports of a military buildup along the border with Kosovo, refuting concerns expressed by both the United States and the European Union. Both nations had previously voiced worries about an increased military deployment by Serbia along its former province’s border, urging Belgrade to reduce its troop presence there. Kosovo’s government reported closely monitoring the movements of the Serbian military from three different directions. Harry Michaels reporting. — U.S. immigration agents processed over 200,000 migrants who crossed the southern border unlawfully in September, marking the highest level recorded in 2023. Border Patrol agents recorded approximately 210,000 apprehensions of migrants who entered the U.S. without authorization between official ports of entry along the Mexican border, as per internal statistics from the Department of Homeland Security, indicating an increase from 181,000 in August. Lawrence Keller reporting. — Turkish warplanes conducted airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday, following a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital. The Ministry of Defense reported that around 20 targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), including caves, shelters, and depots, were “destroyed” in the latest aerial operation, resulting in a significant number of neutralized PKK operatives. Benjamin Wright reporting. — Far-right Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida announced his intention on Sunday to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his leadership position. Gaetz criticized McCarthy for relying on Democrats to prevent a government shutdown. In response, McCarthy expressed confidence in retaining his position during an interview with “Face the Nation” on Sunday, stating, “I’ll survive.” He characterized Gaetz’s challenge as “personal” and accused him of being more interested in securing TV interviews while defending his handling of the short-term measure and daring his detractors to “bring it on.” Kyle Norris reporting.