1/ The House adjourned without a speaker because Kevin McCarthy failed to win a majority in three rounds of voting and 20 Republicans rejected his candidacy. Until a speaker is elected, the 118th Congress can’t swear in members or perform actual work, like consider legislation or create committee assignments. A nominee needs a majority of the House to win the speakership – 218 votes with all members present and participating – and voting will continue until someone gets a majority. In the third round of voting, McCarthy received 202 votes and Jim Jordan received 20. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries received 212 Democratic votes. Before the third round of voting, Jordan called on Republicans to unite behind McCarthy, saying: “We better come together. I think Kevin McCarthy is the right guy to lead us. I really do.” McCarthy, however, lost support from one GOP lawmaker on the third ballot. McCarthy, meanwhile, acknowledged that voting “could” last for days and vowed to press ahead, saying: “we stay in until we win.” The speaker vote hasn’t gone to a second ballot since 1923, and of the 14 multiple ballot-elections for House speaker, 13 occurred before the Civil War. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Politico / NPR / Associated Press / NBC News / ABC News)

2/ New York Republican George Santos – who admitted to making up his resume – is set to be sworn in as a member of the House as Brazilian authorities say they plan to reopen a 15-year-old fraud charge against Santos, now that they know where he is. The House, however, can’t swear in new members until a speaker is elected. Santos has admitted to what he calls “resume embellishment” about his education, work experience, and heritage, including a claim that his grandparents survived the Holocaust. The Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office, meanwhile, allege that Santos spent $700 at a clothing store in 2008 using a stolen checkbook and a false name. Although Santos admitted in a post on social media to stealing the checkbook of a man his mother was caring for, the Representative-elect now asserts that he is not a criminal “here or in Brazil.” While Democrats have demanded that Santos resign, Republican congressional leaders, including Kevin McCarthy, have been silent. (New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / Politico /