let's get back to melanie zanona on capitol hill.both hearing that mccarthy plans to stick around through the vote for the speakership, right? but then his future in the house is uncertain. right? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. in talking to sources close to kevin mccarthy, they are expecting him to leave before the end of his term. this is something that he has been toying with and he said in a closed door conference meeting after being removed as speaker that he wants to go home and spend time with his family. but he wants to stick around at least through the rest of the speakership election. he wants to make sure that the conference which has been so chaotic over the last few days especially is calm and steady before he leaves. now, he doesn't plan to get involved in the speaker's race. we're told he is not expected to endorse any candidate, but he does want to be around to see it through. and keep in mind is this a huge seismic shift for the party. kevin mccarthy came to congress in 2007, he was a state lawmaker in california b

do you expect, melanie zanona that -- could be?sten, if they are going to try to change the motion to vacate they are going to need democratic votes to do that. that was -- talking about saying, depending on today's vote goes maybe we need to revisit this issue. but you heard bob good talking earlier on our air. he said it, yes. any candidate that the speaker and going to get my vote is going to have to make the same commitments that kevin mccarthy did. so, it is not clear who is going to be able to lead this caucus in conference better than kevin mccarthy did or any easier than he did. but, i think to leigh ann caldwell's point, there was personal differences between, especially, matt gaetz and kevin mccarthy. they just did not trust kevin mccarthy. he's made a lot of -- nancy mace, for example, i think she was a surprising vote in some ways. but she he had been saying he -- >> that's really where the issue is. >> and she has been saying that pretty publicly. he was harshly critical of her. what do the next seven days look like in

cnn's melanie zanona is on capitol hill, and melanie, you've been tracking this battle over aid to israel all day. are house republicans, are all of them behind the bill speaker johnson is pushing for? >> well, almost all house republicans are behind this bill, except for two of them, thomas massie and marjorie taylor greene both said they would vote against an aid package for israel. but senate republicans are really divided. in one corner, you have gop leader mitch mcconnell and defense hawks like lindsey graham who say it is in the interest of national security to do a broader package that includes israel, ukraine, taiwan, border security money. but then in the other corner, you have senate conservatives who say they don't support more money flowing to ukraine, and they want to see ukraine and israel delinked, and they're also worried about undermining the new speaker mike johnson. so this issue has really pit mitch mcconnell against his own party and put him in line with senate democratic leader chuck schumer. let's listen. >> the house gop package is woefully inadequate, has the hard

. >> melanie zanona, thanks so much. cnn's coverage from israel cnn's coverage from israel continues. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> tonight straight from "the source," the race to escape. an urgent evacuation order to the residents of gaza, which aid groups the have deemed impossible. as netanyahu is warning hamas the recent strikes -- i'm quoting him now -- are just the beginning. plus, israel hitting hundreds of new targets in gaza and lebanon, as members of the idf are carrying out raids in gaza looking for hostages held by hamas. >>> house republicans tonight went home without a speaker. the chaos on capitol hill has real consequences for what's happening in israel. i'm kaitlan collins, and this is "the source." >>> right now, israeli forces are moving closer to the gaza border, striking more targets tonight is speculation of a ground invasion is growing, following saturday's deadly attack by hamas. anderson cooper will join us live with his reporting from tel aviv in just a moment. this all comes, as the

melanie zanona is here to explain. this is uncertain how this will proceed.ut it sounds like matt gaetz is going to make good on this threat that this process is going to start and republicans in the house will find themselves smack dab in another one of these bouts of in-fighting. >> right in the middle of the gop civil war. with gaetz, he wants to win. he does not want to use this threat and have it fail because then he becomes a paper tiger. so he's been trying to reach out to democrats and see where they fall and get hard-line conservatives behind him and what do democrats do. because they could potentially step in and throw him a life line. now based on the conversations i had with democrats, most of them are not wanting to save kevin mccarthy, because they don't trust him, they don't like that he launched an impeachment inquiry but there is a scenario where some of the moderate democrats step in and vote present or to table which would reject the effort. but he was asked about where liz votes were and what happens if democrats bail out mccarthy. i want

let's take you now live to capitol hill with melanie zanona. nie, this vote comes at a critical time with israel's war against hamas. what are we anticipating is going to happen when it hits the floor? >> boris, we are expecting jack lew to be confirmed and probably going to happen any minute here on capitol hill. this post, a high profile post, has been vacant since july. president biden nominated jack lew back in september, but the war has sped up the sense of urgency on capitol hill to get this done. now lew has a long history of serving in public service. he was a former treasury secretary, former white house chief of staff, and former director of the office of management and budget under the obama administration, but as you mentioned, he has faced some criticism from republicans for his role in the controversial iran nuclear deal in 2015. during lew's confirmation hearing some republicans grilled him on the decision to lift sanctions on iran as part of that deal. on the committee, though, all but one republican voted against lew. we are exp

and joining me now, a -- melanie zanona, who i'm imagining has crossed a lot of names. melanie, some of the names that i'm looking at now it's like wait, who, which one is this? i mean, they like running through the entire roster of house republicans, it feels like. >> yes, scraping the bottom of the barrel here. but look, this is the fourth time republicans are now trying to huddle behind closed, doors to select their nominee for speaker. the fourth time in three weeks. and, just twice alone today, i should point out. right, now there are five candidates were initially in the, race they have been whittling those candidates down to a secret ballot vote. it is down now to keep two candidates, that is mike johnson, a member of the house judiciary committee, and also byron donalds, he's a house freedom caucus member from florida. but caitlin, there is a big warning sign on the last ballot. and that is at 34 republicans voted for someone other than one of those candidates. so, that is a huge issue for either of those candidates. and in fact, they made a motion to figure out

cnn's melanie zanona is live for us on capitol hill. melanie, what is mccarthy saying, and what do you think is the reason for the confusion? >> reporter: speaker kevin mccarthy just talked to reporters. i was there. he said he is not resigning. he has more work to do. he wants to help the republican party build back the majority and expand the majority next year. he has sent different signals behind closed doors. sources say he was saying, if i leave i would at least want to stay through the speaker's election next week. clearly he was considering it at some point. also behind closed doors, he told members he wants to go home and spend time with his family. at this point, kevin mccarthy says he is sticking around. he has more work to do. let's take a listen. >> you're not resigning? >> no, i'm not resigning. >> are you running for re-election? >> yes. >> yes, you'll run or you're thinking about running? >> i'm going to help the people i have here and we're going to expand it further. >> reporter: there's so much uncertainty in the gop.

let's get more on today's back door maneuvering from cnn capitol hill reporter melanie zanona. nie, this contest obviously far from settled. what have you been hearing about who might have the edge? >> reporter: boris, you're exactly right, this race is far from settled. in fact, there is concern that no candidate at this point is going to be able to get the 218 votes needed to become the speaker on the house floor. both steve scalise and jim jordan have been furiously working the phones over the past few days, meeting with members, trying to make their pitch. i am told that scalise has centered his argument on the idea that he has the leadership experience and the institutional knowledge to be able to govern with this unruly house republican conference, and he's also pointed out in his conversations with members i'm told that he has campaigned for nearly every single vulnerable house republican which could go a long way in winning their support. then with jim jordan his argument has centered on the idea that he is best positioned to unite the fractured conference right now and

let's go to cnn's melanie zanona. you have new information about jordan's pitch to house moderates. at can you tell us, melanie? >> reporter: moderate republicans will be a key constituency in this speaker's race. congressman jordan just wrapped up a call with the main street caucus, business-minded members, more center right of the party. during this call jordan pitched himself as a team player and someone who is best positioned to unite this fractured republican party. he also promised he would protect moderates, he would not put them in tough positions. he was also asked about the motion to vacate, that tool that was used to oust kevin mccarthy as speaker. this group has actually been demanding that any candidate for speaker explain how what happened on tuesday will never happen again. they want to reform that tool to make it harder for any single member to be able to call for a vote to remove the sitting speaker. during this call jordan said it's going to be a conference decision, they will need 218 votes from republicans to change those rules. he sounded open to the idea of chan

. >> now melanie zanona is live for us on capitol hill. how is kevin mccarthy responding to all of this? >> reporter: kevin mccarthy is ready for this showdown. he knew this fight was going to come when he put the funding bill on the floor. and the threat has been hanging over his head the entire speakership. and mccarthy and his allies are ready to get it over with. even though he has support of the majority of his republican conference, the reality of course he will need some democrats to side with him just because of the way the slim majority works. we asked mccarthy whether he would cut a deal or offer any concessions to democrats to side with him. he did not answer directly. let's take a listen. >> look, i think this is about the institution. i think this is important. anytime somebody has a complaint, they want to -- [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: it is unclear what democrats are going to do. there are some differing viewpoints within the democratic caucus about how to proceed. i would say the majority of democrats don't trust kevin mcc

. >> reporter: cnn's melanie zanona is "outfront" for us out on capitol hill. melanie, given what we just heard, what's the fate of this bill? >> well, wolf, it's really uncertain at this moment house republicans are supporting the israel-only approach. but democrats are against it, and, meanwhile, senate republicans are really divided, which is just further complicated matters up on capitol hill. in one corner, you have senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and defense hawks like lindsey graham who argue it is in the interest of national security to have a broader package that includes israel, taiwan, ukraine, border security money. but in the other corner, you have senate conservatives who say they don't support any more money flowing to ukraine and are insisting that these two issues be delinked. so, really, it is all mitch mcconnell against members of his own party and put him in line with senate democratic leader chuck schumer. let's listen. >> the house gop package is woefully inadequate, has the hard right high school fingerprints all over it. making aid

cnn's melanie zanona is up on capitol hill for us. s a closed-door meeting going on of gop lawmakers right now. melanie, tell us what's happening right now, and whether any of these potential candidates seem likely to survive a full house vote if they get that far? >> reporter: well, wolf, that is the conundrum that republicans have been dealing with for weeks now, and they are really starting at square one, given that they are 20 days in to this chaos, and they are just tonight having a new candidate forum. moments from now, they will kickoff a forum where all of these candidates are going to make their pitch, and they will gather once again behind closed doors tomorrow where they will have another secret ballot election. today is about hearing from all the different candidates and so far there are nine different republicans who have jumped into the race. that includes tom emmer, a member of leadership, the house majority whip, ran the nrcc for several cycles. but he has to tamp down perceptions that he's not close enough to former pr

melanie zanona picks up the story. >> reporter: jim jordan is not backing down despite the fact that he has pain unable to win over some of his most ardent detractors. he is pushing ahead with his speakership bid. friday he is planning to go to the floor for a third time. before that, he is expected to hold a press conference where he will try to rally support for his speakership bid. now, on thursday he also met with some of the holdouts who have been vowing to vote against him. he is trying to win them over. and his goal right now, he knows he probably won't win on the first ballot on friday that he takes, but he is hoping to show at least some type of progress. however after that meeting a number of holdouts said they are not budging in their opposition. >> i don't know that any minds changed. this guy refuses to lose and that is good, i find that to be very good, but at some point we have to move forward and we can't keep the country shut down. >> we'll find out if there is anymore votes. i don't think very much in the near future. it will be a while. >> reporter: so we'll see it

melanie zanona, thank you.all the chaos that we've been seeing in recent weeks, recent days, amid all the pain that we witnessed overseas, there is something uplifting that will put a smile on your face. we'll show you that, next. bold. daring. expressive. contra costa college allows me to be whoever and whatever i want to be, providing the stage, the canvas, the tools to use my voice and write my story. find your passion and create your future at contra costa college. start today at contracosta.edu >> in these difficult times, of course, there is always hope, the hope is literally the name of israel's national anthem [sp- eaking in a non-english

melanie zanona, cnn, capitol hill. >> a new legal -- to donald trump.e of his former lawyers are scheduled prosecutors. sydney powell pleaded guilty in fulton county georgia on the eve of her trial. as part of a plea, powell is admitting her role in the breach of election systems in coffee county in georgia. she's also required to write an apology letter to the citizens of georgia, pay fines and testify at future trials against your codefendants, aka donald trump. although we don't know which trials just yet. the u.s. army private who fled to north korea last july has been charged with desertion. travis king is currently in pretrial detention in texas after returning to the u.s. last month. he's facing a total of eight charges including possession of child pornography, assault, disobeying a superior officer. the 23-year-old had been released from custody and south korea back in july. he was meant to return to the u.s.. instead, he joined a tour of a joint scary area where he fled across the dmz, the demarcation line in north korea. i'm john vause. thank

let's get more now on today's closed door maneuvering from cnn capitol hill reporter melanie zanona.ng us up to speed on what's happening. >> reporter: at this point no candidate for speaker has the 218 votes that are going to be required to become speaker on the house floor. now, there is still time, both men have been furiously working the phones, meeting with members, doing virtual meetings over the past few days trying to lock down their support. scalise and jordan have zeroed in on moderate members, they will be a key constituency in this speaker's race. those moderates want to see a clear plan to avoid the same chaos they saw on the floor this week. they want to know both men have a plan to govern and they want to know how they are going to unite this bitterly divided house republican party. our manu raju did catch up with one of those candidates, jim jordan this morning, here is what he had to say. >> you're saying you are united. what is different between you and steve scalise? >> i think this race comes down to two questions, i said this yesterday, who can unite the conferen

melanie zanona starts us off on capitol hill with more. how was speaker johnson able to do what all those others could not? >> reporter: anderson, johnson really benefitted from the pure exhaustion inside the gop. after 22 days of chaos, republicans were really desperate to unify and put this ugly chapter behind them. johnson is well liked in the conference. he's also very conservative and very closely aligned with former president trump. it seems his most important quality was that he had no enemies in the conference, in part because he's a low-level member, pretty obscure rank and file member. so, you know, he became the nominee last night, and less than 24 hours later, he was already the speaker. and he didn't even have to cut over any deals with the right wing of his party in order to become speaker, anderson. >> and has johnson said what his priorities will be legislatively? >> well, his first act as speaker today was to put a bipartisan resolution on the floor condemning hamas, expressing support for israel. and it passed with overwh

melanie zanona joins us from the capitol. where do things stand? >> we are on day ten without a speaker. and republicans have gone home for the weekend. earlier today republicans huddled behind closed doors where they tried to select a new speaker candidate. they settled on jim jordan, the trump-backed candidate, who earlier this week came up short against steve scalise, who ended up dropping out of the race. jim jordan is also going to have a major math problem, just like steve scalise did and just like kevin mccarthy did. jordan and his allies say they're going to spend the weekend working the phones, trying to win over holdouts. they're hoping the base gets fired up and tries to urge members to get behind jim jordan. we're told that 55 republicans indicated they would not back jordan on the floor, and he can only lose four of them. he has a massive hill to climb, particularly with moderates, who are worried about his controversial votes. >> where do house republicans go from here if it's not jordan? s jordan is going to try to take this thing to

. >> melanie zanona on capitol hill, let me bring you in on this.sident did resist, but he almost went there, right? he's hoping for the speaker that this is a revelation, talking about, you know, where are your loyalties. this was a real test is kind of how i'm reading what the president was saying for a house speaker mccarthy. how is that being received potentially on the hill. >> well, listen, democrats don't have a lot of trust with kevin mccarthy and the primary reason which biden alluded to in his speech, that kevin mccarthy cut a deal with biden and democrats to set a top-line number with democrats, but over the past few weeks and they have passed bills out of the house that significantly cut that money because kevin mccarthy was facing a revolt and decided to walk away. he said just because you agreed to a number doesn't mean you negotiate further and these numbers will be at the heart of the next government funding fight which is now just 45 days away and the reason yet trust is so important for kevin mccarthy is at this point it may come d

i wanted to get to some new news as reported from melanie zanona, that he wants to talk to some people of the caucus before the interview with bret baier, and this is also his impact to win over the moderates and system of the members who are close allies of kevin mccarthy, but our colleague manu raju caught up with jim jordan earlier today about the trump endorsement, and this what he said. >> i appreciate the president's endorsement, and he is the leader of the party, and the leader of the party and i believe he going to be the next president, and i appreciate that, but the key thing is our colleagues. we have got from the freedom caucus to the people in middle to the committee chairs to jim van drew who was the leader four years ago to across board support, and we will keep working. >> and the time line of how all of this is going to be playing out next week including whether or not any of the candidates in the race, jim jordan or steve scalise can lockdown the 218 votes they need, that question still remains. i talked to patrick henry, interim speaker a few minutes ago before he we

melanie zanona, cnn, capitol hill. >>> let's bring in political commentator and cnn contributor errol louis. former speaking majority mccarthy suggested tom emmer. does he have a better shot, i guess, than any of the other candidates thus far? >> good morning, victor. he has a bit of a shot. it's unclear what's going to happen when they have this beauty contest, if you want to call it that, on monday. look, the reality is there's a question underlying all of this turmoil they're going to have to answer. whether they answer it on monday or any other time, they're going to have to e decide whether this chaos caucus is going to be what the party stands for, at least the congressional delegation. the congress has to decide whether they actually want to legislate or whether or not they want leadership. it's remarkable when you think about it. if they want leadership like jim jordan who's never authored a piece of legislation that actually passed, what they're really saying is legislation is not what the conference is going to be about. now, there are a number of people there who think that

melanie zanona has the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: republicans are back at square one for the succeed time in two weeks, their nominee for speaking has failed to win support within the party. jim jordan tried to take another vote to the floor on friday. he failed to win enough support to win the gavel. so after that vote, republicans huddled behind closed doors and took a secret ballot vote where they voted to dump him as their speaker nominee. there are serious questions about who can get the 217 votes it's going to require in order to win the speakership. a lot of members are upset about the situation they find themselves in. one of those members includes dusty johnson, a more moderate leaning member. let's hear what he had to say. >> they have real problems. this is a time where we need people interested in problem solving. it is time for big boys and big birl girls to stop with the nonsense and get back to work for the united states. >> so now lawmakers will cohome for the weekend. they will have another forum on monday with an election on tuesday. so that's the earlie

it is important the note that many of them this morning according to our colleague melanie zanona are deeply frustrate and upset about the fact that many of the candidates are going to be talking to bret baier on fox news than having a full conference. we expect that things are going to be moving quickly and questions of whether they will get to the floor for house speaker vote, and monday, we expect a republican conference meeting on tuesday and tuesday, a candidate forum, and then wednesday, a conference of who they want for speaker and then when they go to floor for that is remaining. neither have locked down the 218 votes. now does the endorsement help jim jordan or make it tougher for him with the moderates? those are the key questions this morning. >> and you said that moderates are pissed about this televised debate. what is it that they want to see or the sensitivity with how this plays outt? >> yeah, well, john, think about how the house republicans have been dealing with the last week. they starteded with speaker kevin mccarthy monday and they have no longer have a speaker w

let's get an update from melanie zanona.e understand a vote is happening right now behind closed doors? >> reporter: it feels like groundhog day, because once again they're huddled behind closed doors, trying to nominate a no many knee for the speaker. on scalise pulled out, and you saw kevin mccarthy walking by. he told us earlier that he believes jim jordan will ultimately have the votes. then you have a new candidate, who just entered the race a bit ago, austin scott, a georgia republican, but he is seen as more of the anti-jordan alternative, trying to say jordan doesn't have this sewed up. a lot of steve scalise allies, who feels like this whole process just really burned them and their choice for leader, which was steve scalise. we'll see whether they line up behind him today. even if gym jordan does come out of his conference meeting, the big question is, does he have the votes on the house floor? that was something that bedeviled steve cleese and kevin mccarthy, and it looks like jim jordan will run into similar prob

. >> melanie zanona, thank you so much >>> today u.s. secretary of state antony blinken met with families of americans killed or kidnapped in that horrific terror attack this week. his visit to israel comes as the white house is facing growing pressure to take action as hamas threatens to execute hostages in gaza. there's new cnn reporting shedding light on what the administration is doing behind the scenes to recover american hostages and the challenges the administration will face. zach cohen joins us with thatting. what do we know? >> there's a mass effort underway on the part of the american government to secure the release of what they believe to be only a handful of american hostages in the situation. but still, multiple agencies working with the israelis and other partner countries to try to identify who maybe being held hostage by hamas and ultimately secure the release, if possible. we have fbi hostage negotiators on the ground. they have been there since before the attack happened. this is their expertise. finding hostages, neg

melanie zanona live for us on capitol hill. thanks so much.re still awaiting remarks from president biden on the crisis in the middle east. at any moment the president set to speak from the white house. we'll take you there when it happens. stay with cnn.

cnn's melanie zanona is with us. can jordan get to 217?rter: he made notable progress today and flipped several key holdouts. in addition to ann wagner, he won the support of two defense hawks who were skeptical of his foreign policy views and also won support of former allies of steve scalise. in their explanations for why they're supporting jim jordan, it's not because they think he's the best candidate for the job. it's because they want to be team players and end the chaos that has rained on the house floor. there are over a dozen holdouts by our count. he can only lose four republicans on the floor. he's vowing to take this fight to the floor, going to grind down his opposition on the house floor, a similar strategy to what kevin mccarthy did in january. there's been an intense conservative grassroots campaign trying to pressure these house republicans to fall in line. we should know more at 6:30 when house republicans meet for another conference meeting. >> melanie, thanks so much. >>> just in to "the lead," the pentagon is preparing

moments ago, melanie zanona said that jeffries is not going to ask the democrats to help out speaker kevin mccarthy, and so his fate is going to rely on the republicans. >> let's bring in cnn's manu raju and david chalian for more on this. manu, what is the latest that you are picking up? >> well, kevin mccarthy does not simply have the votes to remain as speaker of the house, unless something dramatically changes here. his speakership is in serious jeopardy and this is going to have implications for the house, and the congress cannot move forward until a new speaker is elected and this playing out in realtime. and now, there are more than five republicans in the house who plan to vote against him, and he can only afford the lose four, and that means that he needs to rely on the democrats, but they have no interest in saving kevin mccarthy. they have just had a closed door meeting and one democrat after another stood up to say they will not save him. hakeem jeffries indicating as much saying that the public comments suggesting that there is no reason to get behind ending what he is c

. >> cnn's melanie zanona has more on the challenges facing mccarthy. >> reporter: well, speaker mccarthy have avoided a government shutdown, but now he's facing a showdown with his critics and that is because he opted to put a stopgap bill on the floor at the 11th hour. and instead ended up getting the support of nearly every single house democrat. now, republican matt gaetz is promising to make good on his property to oust speaker mccarthy as soon as this week. but kevin mccarthy says he's not scared of the fight. let's take a listen. >> i do intend to mile a motion against speaker mccarthy this week. i think we need to rip off the band aid. i think we need to move on with new leadership that be trustworthy. >> so be it, bring it on, let's get over it, and let's start governing. if he's upset that i tried to push it into a shutdown and i made sure that government didn't shut down, then let's go. >> reporter: that means he's going to need most if not all democrats behind him in order for this to work. it's unclear what democrats are going to do. most of the democrats that i talked to say

melanie, zanona, thank you. >>> let's go to someone soon voting for speaker. congressman davison.s a member of the caucus. congressman, jim jordan and steve scalise both officially announcing they'll seek the speakership. will you support either of them? >> well, we'll see if there's any other range of candidates in the field. there are certainly other folks feeling out what's possible. i think melanie laid it out right, we're not really going to know in republicans are back in d.c. together. most of us are in d.c., people are scattered around the country, to be sure. but i think the bulk are here in bk, networking. i think it was a smart decision by patrick mchenry to say maybe we should vet separately, instead of all together. that's been healthy. i've had conferences with people across the country. what i shared with cnn is what i chaired with cnn last night, i think whomever can cast a vision for the country is going to emerge as the speaker. because the right question is, i think it's harder for anyone in the conference to trust any one person than it is to have confidence on

cnn's melanie zanona has details on the race to fill the speaker role from washington. >> reporter: well, republicans are bracing for another chaotic week as they scramble to select their next speaker. as of right now, it's a competitive two-way race between steve scalise, the number two republican and jim jordan, who is the chairman of the powerful house judiciary committee. i'm told that scalise has been making the pitch to members in private conversations and phone calls that he is best positioned to lead this republican party in part because he has the leadership experience and also the fundraising capabilities that are going to be necessary to retain their majority. but then you have jim jordan who is really leaning on the idea that he can corral the more far right elements of the party. he was a cofounder of the freedom caucus and also just recently picked up an endorsement from former president donald trump. our manu raju caught up with him in the capitol on friday. here is what me had to say. >> you're saying you're a uniter. what is different between you and steve scalise. >> th

cnn's melanie zanona has more on the challenges facing mccarthy. >> reporter: speaker kevin mccarthy may have avoid the a government shutdown, but now he is facing a showdown with his critics. and that is because he opted to put a stopgap bill on the floor at the 11th hour, but did not include many of the demands his conservative hardliners were seeking and instead ended up getting the support of nearly every single house democrat. republican matt gaetz is promising to make good on his threat to try to oust kevin mccarthy as speaker as soon as this week. kevin mccarthy says he's not scared of the fight. let's take a listen. >> i do intend to file a motion to vacate against speaker mccarthy this week. i think we need to rip off the band-aid. i think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy. >> so be it, bring it on, let's get over with and it let's start governing. if he's upset because i made sure government didn't shut down, let's have that fight. >> reporter: in order for gaetz to succeed, he's going to need the majority of the house chamber. he's likely going

. >> melanie zanona, thank you very much. right now to the breaking news in israel. anderson cooper is in tel aviv and has more. i understand you just visited a site where hamas unleashed deadly terror just last weekend. tell us about that. >> i went to the site of the music festival we believe at this point the single deadliest attack in these terror attacks that took place early saturday morning. the site is very much as it was left. the vehicles are all still out there these young people tried to get into and tried to escape from. it is a scene of complete devastation there. israeli forces are still going over the site. it is still a dangerous area. there was still activity down there that actually delayed my trip down there. it was shocking to see it all up close, wolf. >> you saw idf soldiers at that site. what did they tell you about the attack and what they believe they will face in the future. >> every idf soldier we saw were moved by what they witnessed at that site. i want to play the rear admiral's sound and will have more on my program tonight. he talked

let's get an update right now from cnn's melanie zanona. how many republicans signal they'll oppose skong man scalise? >> reporter: at this point he is well shortnd of the number of votes needed. this is despite the fact he has support from jim jordan who was his chief rival in the speaker's race. over the last three hours steve scalise has been meeting individually with members, trying to win over holdouts. he won over congresswoman anna falina luna. she now feels comfortable backing scalise. wolf, there are plenty other members who still have concerns and say they will not back steve scalise on the floor at this point. let's take a listen. >> i'm not supporting steve scalise. i'll be voting for jim jordan. >> the leader i want to stand behind is jim jordan. >> i think the leader is a g good man. >> they compare themselves to david duke. >> reporter: so steve scalise is facing a very similar dilemma to what kevin mccarthy faces. he ultimately went to the floor and it took him 15 rounds to get the gavel. this time around republicans want to

melanie zanona is joining us live from capitol hill. walk us through what happened today an where the fight to become speaker stands right now? >> reporter: well you're absolutely right to say that republicans are back at square one. once again. because for the second time in two weeks, they're nominee for speaker has been unable to get enough support from within their own party. today jim jordan took another speaker vote on the floor, he failed to win enough votes to get the speakership gavel and bled even more support this time around and so afterwards republicans got together behind closed doors an took a secret ballot vote to dump him as their speaker nominee. so it raises serious questions about who if anyone could get 217 within the republican conference. and a lot of members are really upset over the situation that they find themselves in. including dusty johnson. and manu raju caught up with him and here is what he had to say. >> clearly there is yet another void. we are going to have a couple more days of chaos as we try to get

melanie zanona explains. >> reporter: i think that could be one of his biggest vulnerabilities in this speaker's race. of course his flame throwing brand of politics as well as the fact that he is the face of the biden inquiry will be a tell sell primarily in the districts won by joe biden. and even would gop moderate told cnn that he is not anxious to support jordan and that jordan's challenge is that he has built the monster that is part of the problem. and remember, jordan was a co-founding member of the freedom caucus which was home to many of the members that ultimately voted to oust kevin mccarthy. but jim giordanos he has his work cut out for him. he's been making calls trying to win over those moderates. part of his pitch i'm told is that he is in the best position to try to unite the congress in part because he has the ear and a respect of that freedom caucus. and one other group i'd look out for is the moderate members who were loyal to kevin mccarthy. because a lot of bad blood between kevin mccarthy and steve scalise, the other republican who is running, has happened over t

melanie zanona, thank you so much. respect from political commentator alyssa farah griffin, who worked for congressman jim jordan, when he chaired the house freedom caucus. jordan is trying to lock down the support of moderates. the former president says, put me in, coach. what do you make that the situation? >> both steve scalise and jim jordan, the two declared likely candidates, are trying to take votes from each other. steve scalise talked to moderates and his supporters. i suspect that jim jordan is talking to the freedom caucus, who he is a founding member of, tomorrow. i also think matt gaetz will lower his requirement for the motion to vacate for jim jordan to be speaker. that's a big selling point in the conference. the motion to vacate hanging over the speakers head and them lasting for only a few months is a problem. neither of these candidates have 218 votes. not even close to it. i suspect next week, you'll see a private conference ballot. they did not make the votes public. they are going to realize, that

i want to get to melanie zanona, who is also here on capitol hill. i know that you have been inside the chamber. you have been trying to get a sense of what is happening on the floor, some of the conversations that we can see but can't hear. what's your sense of what's happening as these members gather as they prepare for this big vote? >> reporter: dana, i have now covered a couple of these votes over the past few weeks, and the mood amongst republicans is full of hope and optimism. they are finally going to be able to rally around a speaker, something they have not felt over the past three weeks of chaos and turmoil. mike johnson has been on the floor talking to members. some are taking selfies and handing him personal letters. someone handed him a book that had jesus scrawled on the front of it. also sign of growing confidence is the speaker kevin mccarthy sign that had been hanging over the speaker was take down yesterday. i saw boxes of kevin mccarthy's old belongings being move d out just this morning. so republicans really being driven here by

melanie zanona is out front on capitol hihill. he played king maker with mccarthy. now here he is, he's picking jordan. will this endorsement will have an impact? >> i think it cuts both ways. this will help jim jordan with the right and with conservatives. we did already see a number of them come out and say they are now backing jumpim jordan becau of trump. i talked to troy nels. he said i am not going to go against the former president's wishes. on the other hand, this endorsement is not going to do anything to win over the more moderates in the party. they have a lot of concerns about a jim jordan speaker candidacy because he's a flame thrower, because he's the face of the impeachment. he's arguing he's best positioned to unify the party. >> i know you've been talking to your sources, melanie, about the chaos. the debate gets planned, canceled. what are you learning? >> reporter: there's a lot of whiplash today inside the house republican party. this all started because i'm told fox news reached out to the speaker candidates doing this televised event in the cap

melanie zanona is here to sort through it.it clear how much of an impact the former president's endorsement would mean on the speaker's race? >> well, anderson, i think it really cuts both way. of course, a trump endorsement is going to help jim jordan on the right. and there have been a number of conservatives who have come out and said they are backing jim jordan because of donald trump's endorsement of him. i talked to troy nells, a congressman from texas. and he said he's backing jim jordan because he doesn't want to go against donald trump's wishes. but this endorsement is going to do nothing to win over the moderates in the party, who are going to be a key constituency in this race. some of them are still deeply skeptical of jim jordan. this trump endorsement is probably only going to remind them of just how closely jim jordan is tied to the maga wing of the party. jim jordan is arguing his conservative credentials can be an asset because he can help choral the more far right elements of the party that forced kevin mccar

melanie zanona are on capitol hill.e're coming up on 24 hours since that historic vote that removed mccarthy as house speaker. what does the race look like to succeed him? >> reporter: well the race is already heating up. i have been told that steve scalise as of last night was making calls to his colleagues and lining up supporters and earlier today he made it official in a letter to his colleagues. i want to read you part of that letter. he said, god already gave me another chance at life. i believe we were all here -- put here for a purpose. this next chapter won't be easy, but i know what it takes to fight and i'm prepared for the battles that lie ahead. i humbly ask you for your support on this mission to be your speaker of the house. so, jake, a reference there to the fact that steve scalise was shot at a gop baseball practice back in 2017. now he's under going treatment for blood cancer. but he said he feels great and he's up for the job and this is a moment that he and his team have been preparing for for quite

one of the things that melanie zanona reported two days ago, i just think it's so interesting, the no-jordan bloc has privately been keeping no votes in their back pocket, so that every vote that happened, they knew it was going to be going in the wrong direction for jordan. there would be more no's. and i think part of hr report ing was that some of them drew straws becauser they are scared of him. so who is going to be the first one out there with a no. i think he has proven himself to be a bomb thrower and toxic and controversial, and he will go after them. >> moat most of them, the only thing they have to worry about is a primary. the only thing to worry about is a primary. we know from history if the freedom caucus and donald trump get against you in a primary, you could have trouble, which is why it's noteworthy, these are the guys that have to come home to competitive districts. they need to win independent votes if not some democratic votes to keep some jobs. the people in the suburbs don't get to take 17 days off from picking up their kids from school. they have to figure out who is

melanie zanona is reporting that jim jordan, who was expected to participate, wants to speak with his colleagues in private before he does this forum. we are also learning that steve scalise said he was initially not going to participate, but then was told these two other candidates were participating, and that influenced his decision. so up in the air. there's a question about what this means for the schedule next week and if this will actually happen. so so many unanswered questions, but as you can expect, republicans are thinking what about us. why don't we have this conversation amongst ourselves first before going public. >> absolutely. thank you so much. appreciate that. before we talk around the table about all this, just a little context. has there been turmoil at the top of the house, yes, but here's the yes part. in my time covering washington alone, we had a coup to push out newt gingrich. from "the washington post" in november of 1998, newt gingrich steps down in face of rebellion. then a plan to replace him with congressman livingston of louisiana. he had to drop abruptly

and reporter melanie zanona joins me now. >>> matt gaetz has said that he's going to force this vote on kevin mccarthy this week. might this be the end of mccarthy as speaker? >> in order for that to succeed, they need a majority of the entire chamber. so that would be presumably 218 votes. and say gaetzs has 18 members with him and on the republican side which is a large number, we're not sure what number is. but then he would still need 200 democrats to back him and that is where hakeem jeffries, the democratic leader come news plac place. right now they don't have a unified position, there is a lot of democrats who said we should not bail out keb mccarthy, we cannot trust him and why would we do that but you still have a small sector of moderate democrats saying we don't want to throw the house in chaos and perhaps we could get some concessions out of speaker mccarthy. but democratic leader shuft just put out a letter to leaders, we're aware of this issue and let's talk about it as a caucus before we move forward. so that is something we're watching this week. but there are sp ide

let's start on capitol hill with cnn's melanie zanona. when will this vote for speaker take place? when is it scheduled to take place and does scalise have enough republican support to win the speakership or will he by that time? >> reporter: well, jake, at this moment there is no floor vote scheduled for today in the house. it seems very unlikely that is going to happen because of your second question. which is steve scalise does not have enough votes to secure the speakership on the house floor. remember, he only won the party nomination by a very slim margin, the vote was 113-99 and he needs 217 on the house floor. so he does have some work to do here and he did recognize that after winning the party nomination. let's take a listen. >> first i want to thank my house republicans colleagues for 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. >> reporter: now one thing that might help scalise is that jim jordan, the rival, has offered to give the nominating

. >> and jeff zeleny and melanie zanona and seung min kim of the associat associated press. we thought we just went through a crazy news cycle. get ready for this. something we've never seen before in american history, getting pushed out as the speaker house. to give viewers a sense, any one member could ask for a vote and that could happen within two legislative days but it ways toush it to the side and send it to the house committee and we don't know if he's going to do that yet. but the question at the moment, does matt gaetz have the votes to succeed? i want to show you how a potential candidates, people who could potentially vote against matt gaetz. there are 21 house republicans who voted against the conservative stopgap measure to keep the government open. the best candidates of the people who we could potentially see voting with democrats, if democrats vote to kick him out, we just need five. melanie, look at that list. who do you see as likely to join matt gaetz and how successful and do you think gaetz will be successful? >> do i think gaetz will be successful. tha

thank you so much, melanie zanona. much appreciated. >>> well, president biden just addressed news that his administration will build a new border wall in texas despite his promises to not build, quote, another foot. his jaw-dropping response is next on "cnn news central." >>> today president biden is taking new action with the immigration crisis at the southern border. action that appears to contradict a key campaign promise. his administration has cleared the way for 20 miles of new border wall construction in south texas because of what homeland security calls an acute and immediate need. that urgency driven home by chaotic scenes like this one near el paso yesterday. you can see dozens and dozens of migrants rushing past border agents. keep in mind el paso isn't even where these new barriers are going. the new stretch is going to be built in star county to the southeast. the practical effects on the ground remain to be seen. but the mexican president says the u.s. is acting irresponsibly and the move domestically c

melanie zanona joins me now. i was saying before the last break, i have seen a lot on capitol hill. none of that comes close to the dysfunction that's happening inside the house republican conference right now. >> you're right. the sudden collapse of steve scalise's bid has plunged the gop into further chaos and heightened this leadership crisis that they are facing. they are back at square one, and there are serious questions about if and how they are going to move forward, which is just a kind of crazy thing to say, but it's absolutely the reality now. now the current plan, as you mentioned, is they are going to huddle again at 1:00 p.m. to have a another candidate forum or try to rally around a new speaker. as of right now, there are two candidates in the race. that is jim jordan, who tried to run against steve scalise and came up short, and now we have a new candidate that just decided to get sba the race into the race. that's austin scott. he's against jim jordan. really think about this in he's just running as the anti-jordan alternative. and i will tail light you there's a lo