The Catchup: 5 major stories this week, from Biden’s Middle East mission to the GOP’s leadership failure

Jon Ward is a Yahoo News senior correspondent who has covered national politics for over 15 years.

You’re shifting gears to head into the weekend, so here are the top five political stories worth remembering this week.

The week of Oct. 23 was dominated by news out of Israel, including President Biden’s midweek trip to the region and a massive explosion at a hospital in Gaza.

Here are the big stories from this past week, from the war in Israel to the Republican Party’s ongoing chaos in Congress to the 2024 presidential race.

Biden tries to prevent a broader war in Middle East

The war between Israel and Hamas concluded its second week, following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas that killed roughly 1,400 people. Hamas is still holding an estimated 203 hostages, officials said this week.

President Biden visited Tel Aviv on Wednesday to express support for Israel but also to caution the Jewish state against being “consumed” by rage.

“You can’t look at what has happened here ... and not scream out for justice," he said. “But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it … After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."

Israel continues to mass nearly 400,000 ground troops on the border of Gaza ahead of an expected ground invasion. Part of Biden’s mission was to prevent other Arab states from being drawn into a wider war with Israel.

Why it matters

• Biden’s visit to Israel helped shore up Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic support, since many Israelis blame him for failing to prevent the attack.

• Biden said it also helped the U.S. secure agreement from the Egyptian government to help facilitate the passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza. United Nations officials estimate that thousands of people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli airstrikes over the past two weeks.

• Biden had hoped to host a summit with Arab leaders in Jordan to work on avoiding a broader regional conflict. But that was scrapped after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza caused the deaths of hundreds of people.

• President Biden delivered an address from the White House Thursday night, to explain why he is asking Congress to approve emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine, and why that matters to U.S. national security.

Good reads on this

• The Associated Press: President Biden wraps up his visit to wartime Israel with a warning against being 'consumed' by rage

• Yahoo News: Poll: Americans' sympathies shift sharply toward Israel in early days of Hamas war

• The Associated Press: From hospital, to shelter, to deadly inferno: Fleeing Palestinians lose another sanctuary in Gaza

Republicans learning a tough lesson about leadership

It’s much easier to criticize than it is to lead. That’s what many of the most hard-line Republicans in Congress are learning the hard way right now.

Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, has been in Congress since 2007 and has never had a bill pass into law. He has spent 16 years in Congress opposing many of his fellow Republicans.

So when Jordan attempted to strong-arm his way into the top spot in the House of Representatives this past week, he had built up enough ill will that almost two dozen Republicans blocked him from winning, despite pressure tactics from his supporters and even death threats.

Why it matters

• House Republicans on Thursday debated making Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, a temporary speaker. McHenry is already the speaker pro tempore, having been designated as such by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy after his ouster on Oct. 3. But his powers as such are limited.

• Without a functioning speaker, the House cannot approve funding for Israel and Ukraine and cannot pass a budget to avoid a shutdown in November.

• Jordan supported making McHenry temporary speaker in an attempt to give himself time to round up votes for himself in the coming weeks. But that move angered a number of House Republicans, who said Jordan should step aside.

• The idea went nowhere. So Jordan said he wanted to keep holding votes on the House floor to see if he could get elected speaker.

Good reads on this

• The Associated Press: GOP's Jim Jordan fails again on vote for House speaker as frustrated Republicans search for options

• Politico: Republicans Are Dodging a Bullet with Jim Jordan’s Collapse

• Yahoo News: House speaker chaos: New poll shows Americans increasingly blame Republicans for dysfunction in Congress

Sidney Powell pleads guilty, will cooperate in case against Trump

Former Trump ally Sidney Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties, a day before her trial was scheduled to begin in a Georgia court.

She agreed to serve a sentence of six years probation, pay a $6,000 fine and write a letter of apology to Georgia residents.

As part of the plea agreement, Powell will now cooperate with the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump and other defendants who are charged with trying to overturn the 2020 electionby Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Why it matters

• After the 2020 presidential election, Powell became one of the biggest names trying to help former President Trump overturn the results by arguing that the election had been stolen. These lies led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters who believed them.

• Powell’s wacky theories of Venezuelan interference with voting machines never had any evidence for them and were easily discredited. She was, nonetheless, invited on Fox News and other right-wing media outlets numerous times, and met with Trump and his advisers in person and on phone calls in the weeks before Jan. 6.

Good reads on this

• Associated Press: Sidney Powell pleads guilty over efforts to overturn Trump's loss in Georgia and agrees to cooperate

• The Atlantic: What Sidney Powell’s Deal Could Mean for the Fulton County Case Against Trump

• USA Today: Inside the 'unhinged' Oval Office meeting that divided Trump's orbit before the Jan. 6 attack

Trump gets a gag order

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a limited gag order Tuesday that prevents former President Trump from making some types of comments about personnel in the federal criminal case against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump’s lawyers said they would appeal the ruling, but Trump said it would help him politically.

Why it matters

• Chutkan’s written ruling said that the limits on Trump’s speech apply narrowly — preventing him only from attacking individuals involved in the case — to protect the safety of those people and the integrity of the judicial process.

• Trump, she said, “has made … statements to national audiences using language communicating not merely that he believes the process to be illegitimate, but also that particular individuals involved in it are liars, or ‘thugs,’ or deserve death.”

Good reads on this

• The Associated Press: Trump has narrow gag order imposed on him by federal judge overseeing 2020 election subversion case

• The Washington Post: Read the limited gag order

RFK Jr.'s impact on 2024 presidential race could be small, poll finds

A new Yahoo News/YouGov survey found that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential candidacy would have no real impact on a matchup between President Biden and former President Trump in a 2024 rematch.

Why it matters

• When Kennedy relaunched his campaign as an independent, moving out of the Democratic primary, that raised fears on the left and right. Some thought he might take more votes from Biden. Others thought he might siphon support from Trump or the Republican nominee.

• In the Yahoo News/YouGov poll, Biden led Trump 44% to 43% if Kennedy does not run, and Biden led Trump 40% to 39% if Kennedy is an independent candidate for president on the ballot. Kennedy received 9% support in the survey.

• The poll suggests Kennedy might draw support from both sides at roughly the same level.

Good reads on this

• Politico: The real way RFK Jr. could spoil the 2024 election