Happening this Friday: Donald Trump endorses Jim Jordan in House GOP speaker race… Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., denounced Biden impeachment inquiry as unserious at online fundraiser… Vice President Harris attends DNC meeting in St. Louis… Mike Pence hits Iowa, Vivek Ramaswamy is in New Hampshire, and Tim Scott stumps in South Carolina… And congrats to Ben Kamisar and his wife Shelby on the birth of their daughter, Evelyn!
But FIRST… It’s been an unstable week in what’s already been unstable year in American politics.
Think about it: a government shutdown just barely averted.
A Republican speaker ousted over a vote to keep the government open for only another month and a half.
Uncertainty about the next speaker, about another potential shutdown in November, and about funding for Ukraine.
More developments and controversies in the multiple civil/criminal trials into the overwhelming frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump.
That GOP frontrunner’s increasingly violent rhetoric.
A Democratic president — whose administration and party are providing more governing stability than the GOP — who saw his son plead not guilty to federal gun charges and who kept a light public schedule this week at the White House.
And a Democratic Party still dealing with the indictment of one of its senators, Bob Menendez of New Jersey.
They all set up a chaotic political environment as we barrel towards 2024 — with two deeply unpopular presidential frontrunners.
Headline of the day
The number of the day is … 2
That’s how many majority-Black congressional districts Alabama will have after a federal court on Thursday ordered the adoption of a new congressional map that includes two Black-opportunity districts instead of just one.
Alabama is 26% Black, NBC News’ Jane Timm reports, but the state tried to draw a map with just one majority-Black district, a plan that was rejected by a federal court and by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Now, Alabama’s 2nd and 7th Districts will be majority-Black. Trump carried the current 2nd District by 29 points. But under the new lines, Biden would have won it by 12 points, meaning Democrats are now favored to win it, per the Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman. And GOP Rep. Barry Moore, who currently represents the 2nd District GOP, has been thrown into the same district as his colleague GOP Rep. Jerry Carl, who represents the state’s 1st District.
Other numbers to know
$550,000: How much former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani owes in federal taxes, according to the IRS, NBC’s Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst and Zoë Richards report.
More than 50: The number of Ukrainian civilians in one town who died due to a Russian missile strike on Thursday.
$500 million: The value of a lawsuit that former President Donald Trump unexpectedly dropped against his former attorney Michael Cohen on Thursday.
More than 50: How many top election officials in Pennsylvania have left their posts since the 2020 election, the New York Times reports.
1 in 5: The share of Ohioans who are expected to die before they turn 65, according to a Washington Post analysis of life expectancy in all 50 states.
6,500: How many Venezuelan migrants the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it encountered in one day last week. On Thursday the Biden administration announced it was resuming direct deportation flights for migrants from Venezuela who entered the country illegally.
Eyes on 2024: Trump dives into speaker drama
Former President Donald Trump dove head-first into the fight over the next speaker of the House, endorsing Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Thursday night.
“He is STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment,” Trump wrote of Jordan in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, per NBC News’ Jake Traylor. “He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!”
Earlier in the day, Jordan told NBC News’ Ali Vitali and Kyle Stewart that he had discussed his bid for speaker with the former president, saying that they had a “great conversation.” Later, news broke that Trump was weighing a visit to the Capitol next week to try and unify Republicans as some lawmakers called for the former president himself to take the position, since the speaker does not have to be a member of the House.
Meanwhile, Trump allies are also meddling in the race for majority leader, per TIME, moving to oppose Minnesota GOP Rep. Tom Emmer’s bid. Emmer, currently the majority whip, is the only current member of House leadership who did not vote to object to 2020 election results, and he reportedly has said he will not endorse in the presidential primary.
In other campaign news …
Immune? Trump’s attorneys moved on Thursday to dismiss the federal 2020 election interference case, arguing Trump’s actions were protected by presidential immunity, per NBC’s Ginger Gibson and Ryan J. Reilly.
No longer going Green: Activist Cornel West announced Thursday that he is running for president as an independent, and no longer running under the Green Party mantle, which could complicate West’s attempts to get on the ballot.
Third-party threat: A group donors huddled this week and discussed donating more money to stop a potential third-party bid from No Labels amid fears such a campaign could cause President Joe Biden’s to lose to Trump, per Politico, which details other efforts to stymie third-party runs.
The call is coming from inside the house: Democratic calls on Biden to address the flow of undocumented immigrants across the southern border have “quickly created a political headache for the president,” write NBC’s Natasha Korecki and Gabe Gutierrez.
Decision time: Friday is the deadline in New Hampshire for voters to change their party registration ahead of the 2024 primary, and NBC’s Emma Barnett and Noah Pransky detail how some groups are making the case to Democrats to switch parties and participate in the GOP primary.
It’s electric: The New York Times delves into the GOP presidential candidates’ recent criticism of electric vehicles.
Surf’s up: Newly appointed California Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler is weighing a run for the open Senate seat, and CNN reports that the current candidates in recent days have been “preparing to ramp up new endorsements and outreach that they hope will convince Butler there is not enough time to mount a credible campaign.”
Primary point: Some House GOP primary candidates running against candidates former Speaker Kevin McCarthy endorsed are using his ouster against his preferred contenders, per Politico.
Santos saga: Embattled New York GOP Rep. George Santos’ former campaign treasurer pleaded guilty in the case involving Santos, admitting Thursday that she fabricated campaign donations.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who died last week, was honored at her funeral in San Francisco on Wednesday.
A man in Wisconsin entered the state Capitol demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers and later returned with an assault rifle after he posted bail.
