Chaos on Capitol Hill: House Republicans will huddle behind closed doors TONIGHT in search of a Speaker as Israel war explodes amid power vacuum

House Republicans will gather in the same room Monday night for the first time since they huddled after the stunning ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy – in a political landscape rocked by the Hamas attack on Israel.

House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) will each make their preliminary pitches to colleagues, having already started dialing individual lawmakers seeking support and making the case for their ascent.

And lawmakers are squabbling about whether to change House rules to reduce the next speaker from political vulnerability – with critical U.S. aid to Israel and Ukraine also now caught up in the uncertainty.

For anyone to be elected speaker, they will need the support of 217 lawmakers, half the current House – a number that is difficult to achieve in the fractured Republican House, and one McCarthy couldn't pull off when he suffered a devastating motion to vacate the chair by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). 

It is not clear either Jordan or Scalise has found a path that gets them to 217. Some McCarthy allies and centrists are demanding changes to House rules that would free the speaker from the prospect of removal by a motion from a single lawmakers.

Although he has been rolling up support, some more moderate members are already raising concerns about Jordan's ability to assist in swing districts. The former founding chair of the House Freedom Caucus took a leading role in the first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing.

McCarthy was able to establish himself as a powerhouse fundraiser. He even donated a total of $150,000 to Republican lawmakers who voted to remove him from office. 

The House is currently hamstrung by the lack of a speaker. The White House contacted Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries over the weekend to make arrangements for an all-members briefing, with Republican leadership up in the air. 

Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Steve Scalise (R-La.) are battled in a race to succeed Kevin McCarthy as speaker

Lawmakers are already circulating a resolution expressing congressional support for Congress in light of the stunning terror attack that left 700 Israelis killed. The State Department said 9 Americans were among the casualties.

Although the Biden administration has said it is already able to move a military aid package for Israel, it may soon need congressional to be able to undertake additional action.

As of now, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is serving as the temporary Speaker pro tem.

THe absence of authority in the House comes as Israel declared war on Hamas, pounding the Gaza Strip following a stunning terror attack by militants

Former Speaker John Boehner once called Jordan a 'legislative terrorist' 

Scalise is battling health challenges while seeking to move up to the top position

Some lawmakers would like to try to reinstate Kevin McCarthy as speaker, but he has said he is not seeking the position after his stunning ouster 

But the extent of McHenry's authority is a matter of dispute. 

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said McHenry's authority is limited. 

'I want to clear up some confusion. As an unelected acting Speaker pro tempore [Patrick McHenrey's] job is to guide the House toward the election of a new Speaker. That's it. His power is constrained by the plain text of Rule 1, Clause 8 of the Rules of the House,' McGovern wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

If no Republican is able to reach 217 votes, the post would remain vacant.