Politics

(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors filed new charges Thursday against Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., accusing him of violating a prohibition on members of Congress from acting as an agent of a foreign principal.

The superseding indictment said Menendez “made multiple requests for the U.S. Department of Justice to commence an investigation against another person for allegedly failing to register under FARA.”

Menendez faced a sweeping indictment in late September accusing him and his wife of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using the senator’s power and influence to seek to protect and enrich the businessman.

The superseding indictment includes four new charges and appears to mark the first time a sitting member of Congress has ever been charged with conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent.

The indictment alleges Menendez conspired with his wife, Nadine Menendez, and New Jersey businessman Wael Hana to have the senator act as an agent of Egypt.

The indictment includes new photos of Menendez, his wife and Hana dining with Egyptian officials that prosecutors said were part of a “corrupt agreement” to provide the senator and his wife with hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for official acts taken to benefit the Egyptians.

Once Nadine Menendez informed her friend Hana that she was dating Menendez, prosecutors said the two “arranged a series of meetings and dinners” with Egyptian officials. In exchange for bribe payments, Menendez was meant to help lift a block on U.S. military aide to Egypt, the indictment says.

The new indictment also alleges Nadine Menendez set up an LLC to receive bribe payments, quoting a message from her saying “every time I’m in a middle person for a deal I am asking to get paid and this is my consulting company.”

As part of the new charges, federal prosecutors sought to seize the senator’s home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the 2019 Mercedes convertible prosecutors said Nadine Menendez bought with bribe money, nearly half a million dollars in cash and multiple gold bars.

Reached by phone, the senator’s defense attorney, David Kolansky, said he had no immediate comment.

The superseding indictment says Menendez “made multiple requests for the U.S. Department of Justice to commence an investigation against another person for allegedly failing to register under FARA,” who appears to be former Republican congressman David Rivera from Florida, who Menendez accused of being an agent for Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

Menendez, as well as his wife, pleaded not guilty to the first set of charges on Sept. 27.

Sen. Marco Rubio, the No. 2 member on the Senate Intelligence Committee behind Menendez, told reporters just after the news broke that he had not yet seen the reporting, but called it concerning.

“Yeah, I mean, who’s in favor of that? I mean, of course it’s concerning,” Rubio said, but added that Menendez has a right to defend himself.

“I’m hearing it from you for the first time so if he wants to defend his record, he has a right to do so. And in our country, the government is tasked with the job of proving those cases,” Rubio told reporters.

Menendez has said he will not step down and strongly denounced the charges in a press conference.

“Everything I’ve accomplished I’ve worked for despite the naysayers and everyone who has underestimated me,” he said on Sept. 25. “I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet. But as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator.”

ABC News’ Elizabeth Landers contributed to this report.

 

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(FORT PIERCE, Fla.) — Attorneys for former President Donald Trump’s two co-defendants in the special counsel’s classified documents case will appear in court Thursday to make their case that their representation of their clients, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, doesn’t present a conflict of interest despite them representing other witnesses in the investigation.

Lawyers for Trump will also be present at the hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Trump pleaded not guilty in June to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation’s defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back.

Nauta, Trump’s longtime aide, and De Oliveira, the property manager at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, subsequently pleaded not guilty along with the former president to obstruction charges in a superseding indictment related to alleged attempts to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage.

Thursday’s hearing could provide additional insight into what witnesses have told investigators about Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira’s actions leading up to their indictment.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s team requested the hearings for U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to determine if Stanley Woodward, Nauta’s counsel, and John Irving, De Oliveira’s counsel, have any conflicts of interest arising from their past and current representations of witnesses who the government may call at trial.

Woodward previously represented the individual identified in Smith’s superseding indictment as “Trump Employee 4,” who ABC News has previously identified as Yuscil Taveras, Mar-a-Lago’s former director of IT. Taveras switched attorneys after receiving a target letter from the special counsel indicating he may have perjured himself during a May appearance prior to the federal grand jury hearing evidence in the probe.

Taveras then entered into an agreement to cooperate with the government, with Smith agreeing not to prosecute Taveras for allegedly perjuring himself in exchange for his truthful testimony.

According to previous court filings, Smith’s team argues that Woodward’s potential cross examination of his former client “raises two principal dangers.”

“First, the conflict may result in the attorney’s improper use or disclosure of the client’s confidences during the cross-examination,” the special counsel has said, according to the filings.

“Second, the conflict may cause the attorney to pull his punches during cross-examination, perhaps to protect the client’s confidences or to advance the attorney’s own personal interest,” the special counsel said in the filing.

Woodward also represents two additional individuals who could also be called as witnesses at trial. Their identities have not publicly been disclosed.

Smith’s team also argues that conflicts may arise from Irving’s representation of De Oliveira, given that Irving represents at least four others who have been questioned by special counsel investigators.

The clients include a maintenance worker at Mar-a-Lago who served as head of maintenance before De Oliveira; a former receptionist and assistant to Trump; and a witness who has information about the movement of boxes from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, according to prosecutors.

“Mr. Irving’s representation of the three potential witnesses raises the possibility that he might be in the position of cross-examining current clients,” the special counsel has said, according to the public filings.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he was doing “a lot” to free hostages held by Hamas, including Americans, and that he hasn’t given up hope, but he revealed no details.

“We’re working on every aspect of the hostage crisis in Israel, including deploying experts to advise and assist with recovery efforts,” he told a gathering of Jewish community leaders. “Now, the press are going to shout to me, and many of you are, that you know … what are you doing to bring these — get these folks home? If I told you, I wouldn’t be able to get them home. Folks, there’s a lot we’re doing, a lot we’re doing.”

“I have not given up hope of bringing these folks home,” he continued. “But the idea that I’m going to stand here before you and tell you what I’m doing is bizarre. So, I hope you understand how bizarre I think it would be to try to answer that question.”

Earlier, the White House said the U.S. is “keeping options wide” for the recovery of Americans being held hostage by Hamas, but at the same time, a spokesman acknowledged it had no update on their condition or whereabouts.

At least 22 Americans have died in Israel since the fighting began on Saturday when Hamas launched unprecedented surprise attacks. Seventeen Americans remain unaccounted for or missing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

According to White House spokesman John Kirby, a “number of those Americans” are being held hostage by Hamas. He said the public should prepare for the possibility that the number of U.S. citizens being held by the terrorist group will grow.

ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Kirby if there were anything he could share about the hostages’ condition, and whether the administration is in contact directly or indirectly with Hamas about securing their release.

“Now, where they are and in what condition, no,” Kirby responded, adding the administration isn’t aware if they are in one group or at what frequency they may be being moved. “Sadly we don’t know. And that makes efforts very, very difficult.”

He also told ABC White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks he is “not aware of any specific proof of life on any individual hostage.”

Kirby said the U.S. is in discussion with some countries, such as Qatar, that have lines of communication with Hamas on freeing the hostages.

Pressed on whether the U.S. has made any contact with Hamas, Kirby deferred to his previous answer — telling reporters that like in other instances where Americans are being held hostage or wrongfully detained, “the less you say out there publicly the better.”

Asked if President Biden has ruled out sending any American forces into Gaza to help secure their release, if necessary, Kirby said they just “don’t have enough information to be able to make decisions like that.”

“Obviously we’re casting a wide net,” Kirby said regarding discussions about hostages with allies and partners in the region. “We’re also keeping the options wide open right now as we get more information but we just don’t have enough granularity to be able to fine-tune those options.”

According to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter, it does appear that allies and partners in the Middle East in communication with Hamas are being helpful in advocating for the release of the hostages.

But despite recent apparent overtures to the Hamas leadership, the officials say Hamas has shown no real willingness to partake in diplomacy up to this point. And despite Israel’s long history of prioritizing the lives of its citizens that are taken hostage, the officials said there’s no appetite on their side to cut a deal right now either.

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(WASHINGTON) — Hamas’ militants launched a brutal, expansive terror attack on Israel over the weekend, killing at least 1,200 people, and Israel went to war in response, with President Joe Biden and other top administration officials pledging aid to the Israelis.

That underlines the U.S.’s continued support for Israel. Gallup polling in recent decades shows that adults broadly remain very or mostly favorable to Israel compared with the Palestinian Authority, one of the Palestinians’ major governing bodies.

Still, according to Gallup surveys as recently as February — months before the Hamas attack — Americans’ opinions had been shifting on Israel and the Palestinians, with thoughts on the two largely divided along party lines.

Americans overall also remain supportive of Israel, with 54% in the February Gallup survey saying their sympathies lay more with Israelis, while 31% said their sympathies lay more with the Palestinians.

The percentage of Americans who said their sympathies was with both Israelis and Palestinians or were unsure dropped from 33% in 2001 to 15% earlier this year.

Much of the movement appeared to be driven by Democrats: In 2001, 51% of Democrats told Gallup their sympathies lay more with Israelis, while 16% said their sympathies were more with Palestinians. Those numbers flipped by 2023, with 38% of Democrats saying their sympathies were more with Israelis and 49% saying their sympathies lay more with Palestinians.

January of this year also marked the first time since at least 2001 that more Democrats said their sympathies lay more with Palestinians than with Israelis, 49-38%. Still, 56% of Democrats in March said they had a very or mostly favorable view of Israel.

Republicans, meanwhile, expanded their support for Israel. Fifty-nine percent of Republicans in 2001 said their sympathies lay more with Israelis, and 14% said their sympathies lay more with Palestinians. The percentage of Republicans whose sympathies were more with Israelis jumped to 78% by 2023, with the percentage of Republicans whose sympathies were more with Palestinians falling slightly, to 11%.

Eighty-two percent of Republicans in March said they had a very or mostly favorable view of Israel.

Independents largely split the difference. Forty-four percent in 2001 told Gallup their sympathies lay more with Israelis, and 19% said their sympathies lay more with Palestinians. Two decades later, in 2023, 49% of independents said their sympathies lay more with Israelis, while 32% said their sympathies lied more with Palestinians.

Sixty-seven percent of independents in March said they had a very or mostly favorable view of Israel.

Experts told ABC News that there are several possible explanations for the public opinion shift, though it’s unclear if the trend will continue after Hamas’ incursion into Israel over the weekend.

Since the conflict began, in addition to the dead and wounded in Israel, Palestinian officials said that more than 1,000 people have been killed in Gaza, the Palestinian territory that Hamas controls.

Khalid Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and a former adviser to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on permanent status negotiations with Israel from 2004 to 2009, believes Democrats’ drop in support for Israel is due in part to increased awareness of Palestinians’ often dire living conditions in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip.

Elgindy also pointed to the disproportionate casualty rates between Israelis and Palestinians in past rounds of fighting — a pattern so far sharply reversed in the latest Hamas terror attack.

Partisanship is another factor driving Democrats shifting sympathies, Elgindy said: “Israeli politics have shifted ever more to the right over the years.”

He said that Israel’s national government before the Hamas attack had embraced “more aggressive policies toward Palestinians” and “more settlements” for Israelis in Palestinian territory, which is considered illegal by the U.N.

Before the Hamas attack, such settlements had also been criticized by Biden administration officials.

Experts also suggested that Democrats’ shift in opinion was linked to a major domestic issue since 2020 — the nationwide protests and debate over racial inequality, fueled by movements like Black Lives Matter — and how that could have reshaped attitudes more broadly.

Still, “being against Israeli policies does not mean to be against Israel per se,” Raffaella A. Del Sarto, an associate professor of Middle East studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, told ABC News in an email.

Across the aisle, Republicans have grown increasingly supportive of Israel in part, one of the experts said, because evangelicals have become more influential within the party in the U.S. At the same time, fewer Democrats identify as affiliated with an organized religion.

Former President Donald Trump, among the most popular figures in the GOP, sought to define his foreign policy record while in office through his close alliance with Israel’s national government.

“Evangelical Christians are a big bloc within the Republican Party base. And they’re quite supportive of Israel for theological and religious reasons,” Elgindy said, adding, “I think there’s a secular version of that trend.”

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(WASHINGTON) — As Israel gears up for a possible ground invasion of Gaza following the devastating terror attacks by Hamas, the U.S. is pushing for a safe passage for civilians to flee.

The Biden administration is in active discussions about the issue with Israel and Egypt, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday, though no breakthrough has been reached on a humanitarian corridor or other action.

The Rafah border crossing from southern Gaza into Egypt, the only route out, has been closed.

“Civilians are not to blame for what Hamas has done,” Kirby said. “They didn’t do anything wrong, and we continue to support safe passage.”

Kirby added, “Civilians are protected under the laws of armed conflict, and they should be given every opportunity to avoid the fighting.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, leaving Washington for Israel to show support, said the issue of safe passage is “complicated.”

“But we want to make sure to the best of our ability, and I know that Israel to the best of its ability, that civilians are not harmed,” he said on the tarmac in Washington. “But Israel has to take steps to defend itself.”

As the violent conflict stretched into its fifth day, at least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel and 2,900 injured. In Gaza, 1,100 people have died and 5,184 are injured.

The ground offensive Israel could launch is expected to result in an increase of casualties on both sides.

President Joe Biden has spoken to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu four times so far, including earlier Wednesday.

With concerns mounting over civilian casualties, Biden, speaking to a gathering of Jewish community leaders, reiterated his support for Israel but also recounted what he said was his recent message to Netanyahu.

“I’ve known Bibi for over 40 years and [we have a] very frank relationship,” Biden said, recalling one of their recent conversations. “One thing that I did share is that it is really important that Israel with all the anger, frustration and it just cannot explain it, that exist, is that they operate by the rules of war. The rules of war. And there are rules of war.”

Kirby, asked Wednesday if the U.S. has done anything to try to deter Israel from the ground offensive or if Biden has asked Israel to show restraint, deferred to the Israeli military to talk about their plans.

But Kirby did briefly, and forcefully, comment on the question generally, stating, “Nobody wants to see any more innocent life lost.”

“None. Nobody,” he said. “No matter who you are. If you’re an innocent civilian, you didn’t cause this. You didn’t ask for this. And you shouldn’t be having to fear for your life. Nobody wants to see that happen.”

“And I think it’s important to remind that, especially on the Palestinian side, Hamas is directly endangering their lives. hospitals and schools,” Kirby added. “They didn’t ask for that either. And Hamas doesn’t speak for the majority of the Palestinian people or their aspirations for peace and security.”

The White House spokesperson also stressed the importance of getting humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.

As for American citizens still in Israel, Kirby said the State Department is in touch with them to establish a connection and see if they want to leave.

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(WASHINGTON) — A Texas congressman is touting a proposed resolution in support of Israel that has gained widespread support on both sides of the aisle.

Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke to ABC News on Wednesday about the bipartisan resolution and the possibility of passing a supplemental aid package to Israel once the House elects a new speaker.

“We have over 400 co-sponsors, which is almost unheard of. But it just shows our unity behind Israel and our condemnation of Hamas and this terror attack that occurred last Saturday. That’s very important that the American people, through their representatives, express this strong voice, you know, supporting Israel and condemning what Hamas has done,” McCaul said.

At least 1,200 people have died and 2,900 others have been injured in Israel after Hamas launched a surprise incursion from air, land and sea on Saturday, Israeli authorities said. Palestinian authorities said at least 1,100 people have died and another 5,339 have been injured in Gaza in the wake of retaliatory airstrikes launched by the Israel Defense Forces.

McCaul also said that efforts to rescue about 100 hostages in Gaza, which includes some Americans, should be the “highest priority.”

His full remarks are contained below:

EVA PILGRIM: So the Israeli defense minister ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. You and about 400 of your colleagues introduced this legislation showing support for Israel. What’s in this bill?

McCAUL: Let me say first, this is one of those moments that where we come together as Americans — both Republicans, Democrats. The [committee’s] ranking member, [Rep. Gregory] Meeks, and I introduced — we’re going to introduce the bill today. We have over 400 co-sponsors, which is almost unheard of. But it just shows our unity behind Israel and our condemnation of Hamas and this terror attack that occurred last Saturday. That’s very important that the American people, through their representatives, express this strong voice, you know, supporting Israel and condemning what Hamas has done.

I got to tell you, the videos I’ve seen — I was in the kibbutz village just right on the border of Gaza last year meeting with the Jewish people there, seeing the day care center and then to find out it was overrun by 70 Hamas terrorists and almost all of the people there were slaughtered. But most inhumanely, the babies in the day care center were killed and many were beheaded. This is sheer terror, it’s evil, and it cannot stand.

GIO BENITEZ: Yeah, it’s just absolutely horrifying. And, of course, congressman, the intention of this bill is to support Israel right now. But you also, right now, don’t have a Speaker of the House. So, what can be done?

McCAUL: Well, I’m getting ready to walk over to our elections after this interview. I hope we have a speaker. We want to get this bill on the floor, and we’re looking at ways by unanimous consent to get it on the floor. And then we also need to look at a supplemental package for Israel. What they need right now is to replenish the Iron Dome with intercepts. We need to provide them precision-guided missile weapon systems and also ammunition. That’s what I’ve heard from the Israelis. That’s what we heard today from the administration in our classified briefing.

PILGRIM: We know Hamas has taken hostages, some of which are American. What’s being done at this point to get those people home?

McCAUL: So, as you see the bombings occur right now in Gaza, that’s to take out command and control. The next phase is going to be going house to house, not unlike Fallujah in 2004. This is going to be very dangerous, because they use hostages as shields, if you will. These are Americans held hostage. These are Jewish Israelis being held hostage. But we have a concerted effort, working with Israel, our special forces, our FBI hostage rescue team, to work with them, to rescue them. There are probably about 100 hostages right now in Gaza, and some of those are Americans. That has to be our highest priority.

BENITEZ: Yeah, we’re all praying for those hostages right now. Texas Congressman and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul. Sir, thank you so much for joining us for this important conversation.

McCAUL: Thanks for having me. Thank you.

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(WASHINGTON) — Hours after he was hit with a new round of federal charges, New York congressman George Santos briefly sat down with a small group of reporters on Wednesday morning to reiterate a few things: He does not intend to resign, he does not intend to take a plea deal and he intends to fight the case until “the bitter end.”

“I’m strong in my convictions that I can prove my innocence,” he insisted.

Prosecutors this week said that Santos, a Republican first elected last year, allegedly racked up thousands of dollars in charges on his donors’ credit cards, exaggerated contributions to his campaign and claimed to have lent $500,000 of his own money when he only had $8,000 in the bank.

A superseding indictment was filed against Santos on Tuesday. He was previously charged by federal prosecutors in May and accused of three schemes, including defrauding his supporters out of tens of thousands of dollars and lying in disclosures to the House. He pleaded not guilty.

He has not yet appeared in court on the latest counts. The charges against him now include wire fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft and falsifying records submitted to obstruct the Federal Election Commission, among others.

“Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign. Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen,” Breon Peace, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, contended in a statement on Tuesday.

Santos insisted on Wednesday that he has “no control over specifically campaign finances.”

His former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks last week pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for, prosecutors said, filing the names of false donors.

Prosecutors said that together, Marks and Santos allegedly worked together make it seem like Santos was getting enough donor support to qualify for party funds.

On Wednesday, Santos sought to distance himself from the accusations and suggested Marks could have been responsible even as he said, “I’m not blaming that on her.”

He maintained that he had “emails … that we will use for my defense” in which he questioned Marks on reports and figures.

“It’s frustrating to me that I have to sit here and now have to defend myself for things that I pay someone else to do,” he said, adding, “I’m just saying it wasn’t me. … I didn’t handle the finances.”

Pressed about whether he had some responsibility for occurred during his campaign, as the candidate in charge, he pushed back.

“‘The buck stops with me’ is an exaggerated term, especially when you’re a candidate … I’m not an experienced politician,” he said.

He specifically denied the allegation that he falsely reported loaning his campaign half a million dollars, calling it “b——-.”

“I never directed a single person to go ahead and say, ‘Hey, make false donations, make ghost donation, straw donations,’ whatever it is you want to call it,” he said.

“I did not create a fake campaign,” Santos said.

He provided no evidence or emails to back up his claims.

He said he was “pretty much denying every last bit of [the] charges” but appeared less defensive about allegations by prosecutors that he filed false unemployment claims at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic even though he had an investment job making about $120,000 a year.

“Even if I were to have taken two checks too many, let’s make it very clear: Nobody in this country gets indicted for taking a check or two more than they are entitled to during unemployment period or in that case and completely extenuating circumstance of the pandemic,” he said.

He said again that he will run for reelection in his swing seat. He faces a growing field of Democrats seeking to beat him.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. is “keeping options wide” for the recovery of Americans being held hostage by Hamas, the White House said Wednesday, but at the same time acknowledged it had no update on their condition or whereabouts.

At least 22 Americans have died in Israel since the fighting began on Saturday when Hamas launched unprecedented surprise attacks. Seventeen Americans remain unaccounted for or missing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

According to White House spokesman John Kirby, a “number of those Americans” are being held hostage by Hamas. He said the public should prepare for the possibility that the number of U.S. citizens being held by the terrorist group will grow.

ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Kirby if there were anything he could share about the hostages’ condition, and whether the administration is in contact directly or indirectly with Hamas about securing their release.

“Now, where they are and in what condition, no,” Kirby responded, adding the administration isn’t aware if they are in one group or at what frequency they may be being moved. “Sadly we don’t know. And that makes efforts very, very difficult.”

He also told ABC White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks he is “not aware of any specific proof of life on any individual hostage.”

Kirby said the U.S. is in discussion with some countries, such as Qatar, that have lines of communication with Hamas on freeing the hostages.

Pressed on whether the U.S. has made any contact with Hamas, Kirby deferred to his previous answer — telling reporters that like in other instances where Americans are being held hostage or wrongfully detained, “the less you say out there publicly the better.”

Asked if President Joe Biden has ruled out sending any American forces into Gaza to help secure their release, if necessary, Kirby said they just “don’t have enough information to be able to make decisions like that.”

“Obviously we’re casting a wide net,” Kirby said about about discussions about hostages with allies and partners in the region. “We’re also keeping the options wide open right now as we get more information but we just don’t have enough granularity to be able to fine-tune those options.”

Israel is currently preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza, and the death toll on both sides continues to mount. At least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel and 1,100 people in Gaza since the fighting began.

The U.S. is actively working with Israel and Egypt on the possibility of a safe passageway for civilians, including Americans, in Gaza to escape before an Israeli ground incursion is expected to bring more casualties.

“We support safe passage for civilians,” Kirby said forcefully. “Civilians are not to blame for what Hamas has done. They didn’t do anything wrong, and we continue to support safe passage.”

Kirby, though, said he had no announcement today or details on a specific route.

“Civilians are protected under the laws of armed conflict, and they should be given every opportunity to avoid the fighting,” he added.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans voted 113-99 Wednesday to nominate Majority Leader Steve Scalise for speaker of the House, defeating Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan.

The vote was conducted by secret ballot, with 113 members voting for Scalise, 99 for Jordan, eight for others and three voting present. But ABC News has been told there will likely not be a vote for speaker on Wednesday due to Scalise’s struggles to nab the 217 votes he will need to become speaker when the full House votes, per sources.

Scalise thanked his colleagues for designating him as the next speaker.

“I want to thank my House Republican colleagues for just designating me as the speaker. Obviously, we still have work to do, we’re going to have to go upstairs on the House floor and resolve this and then get the House opened again,” Scalise said.

Scalise did not indicate whether there will be a floor vote on the House floor Wednesday regarding the speakership, and timing on a floor vote remains unclear.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said. “We need to make sure we’re sending a message to people all throughout the world, that the House is open and doing the people’s business.”

Scalise said the first order of business under his speakership will be to pass a bipartisan resolution standing with Israel. He also said the House, under his leadership, will also take up spending bills to fund the government; will work to get the economy moving, and address the border crisis.

But uncertainty remains about whether enough of Jordan’s backers will throw their support behind Scalise in a vote on the House floor. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who supported Jordan, was noncommittal when pressed by ABC News’ Rachel Scott about how she would vote.

“Are you going to support Scalise?” Scott asked.

“We will see you at 3 p.m.,” Luna replied.

When Scott pointed out, “That’s not a yes,” Luna reiterated, “We’ll see you at 3 p.m.”

Scalise backers agreed that it’s possible the Louisiana Republican doesn’t have the votes he needs.

“I would’ve wanted to hear a very clear, ‘Let’s get behind the winner.’ I didn’t quite hear that today,” said Rep. Don Bacon.

Bacon said that the conference has “the same problem” securing enough votes for a speakership, noting that there are “eight proven people that are not loyal to the team at all, only to themselves” — a reference to the eight Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“I just hope Steve can make sure he can count up 217 votes before going on the floor,” Bacon added.

Shortly after the vote, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., announced that he is running for House majority leader, gunning for the vacancy created by Scalise winning the nomination for speaker. Hern had flirted with running for speaker and is the chairman of the GOP’s largest conference, the Republican Study Committee.

One GOP representative, Max Miller, said he will still vote for Jordan, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in his speakership bid, on the floor. If other members join Miller, the vote on the floor could take several rounds, potentially similar to what McCarthy faced in January.

ABC News’ John Parkinson and Mariam Khan contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans scrambled Tuesday to coalesce behind a speaker candidate one day before their party vote, questioning Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana about their visions and strategies for the majority.

Most Republicans have not announced their support publicly, teeing up a day of uncertainty for Republicans as they prepare for what could be several secret ballot votes for speaker.

Currently, a candidate only needs a simple majority vote to win the party’s nomination and head to the House floor. But, the GOP will vote on an internal rule change to raise that threshold to 217 — to prevent a repeat of the messy 15-ballot floor fight Kevin McCarthy endured last January.

But that change could lead to a longer process on Wednesday, Republicans said.

“There’s merit to … the unity play, where you come out of the locker room all together, no messiness and no drama on the floor,” Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas said. “Doing that in … the privacy of our conference is going to drag this out for a long time.”

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky told reporters there is a “2%” chance the House will have a new speaker named by Wednesday morning.

In the members-only meeting held behind closed doors, Scalise said he would support Jordan as the party’s speaker nominee if he lost the party vote, members told ABC News. But Jordan’s answer to that question was less clear to some of those in attendance, leaving some uncertainty as to whether the party could unite.

The two candidates also left colleagues with different impressions of how they plan to avoid a government shutdown in November. Jordan reportedly laid out a proposed stopgap measure that would attempt to pressure the Senate to accept steeper spending cuts — an approach that conservatives refused to back under McCarthy.

Members weren’t as clear on Scalise’s strategy, but some said it would also involve a stopgap funding measure.

“Here we’ve got a different shot clock because we have tens of days left before the government runs out of money,” Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a McCarthy critic, said when asked if a new speaker would be punished for following McCarthy’s approach. “So I don’t know that you can apply the McCarthy analysis to either Scalise or Jordan.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia told reporters she pushed both candidates on their stance on Biden’s impeachment. While both said they would continue the inquiry opened by McCarthy, Greene said she wanted them to take more aggressive action.

Another wild card in play is the number of lawmakers still loyal to McCarthy and who are still potentially smarting over his removal.

Even though the former speaker has said he will not be a candidate Wednesday, some allies still argue that neither Jordan nor Scalise has enough support to lock up the gavel — and could withhold their support for both men for several rounds of voting.

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