Today in one sentence: On the third day of Trump’s election interference case involving falsified business records to conceal a hush money payment late in the 2016 campaign, two of the seven jurors already seated in the case were removed; House Republicans privately urged Speaker Mike Johnson to change the chamber’s rules and raise the threshold required to trigger the procedure to oust the speaker; the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on Iran's drone, steel, and auto industries in response to its missile attack on Israel; and 53% of Americans under 30 say they’ll "definitely be voting" in the 2024 presidential election.

1/ On the third day of Trump’s election interference case involving falsified business records to conceal a hush money payment late in the 2016 campaign, two of the seven jurors already seated in the case were removed. One expressed concerns after being identified publicly based on details reported by the media. After being dismissed, Judge Juan Merchan blamed journalists for being too accurate in their reporting, and ordered the press to not report on certain details about prospective jurors going forward. The second juror was dismissed over concerns that he may not have been truthful about whether he’d ever been accused or convicted of a crime. Prosecutors said they found an article featuring a person with the same name who was arrested in Westchester in the 1990s for tearing down political ads. The juror reportedly “expressed annoyance about how much information was out there about him in the public.” Seven new jurors were seated hours later, bringing the total number to 12 jurors. The next six jurors selected will serve as alternates. Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office re-upped its request for Merchan to hold Trump in contempt of court for violating his gag order seven more times since Monday, calling the behavior “ridiculous.” Merchan said he would take up the matter next week. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / NBC News / Politico / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / NBC News / Axios)

2/ House Republicans privately urged Speaker Mike Johnson to change the chamber’s rules and raise the threshold required to trigger the procedure to oust the speaker. Doing so would allow Johnson to pass the $95 billion foreign aid package and still keep his job over the opposition from the House Freedom Caucus and other conservatives. Johnson, however, opted against the rule change, saying lowering the threshold for introducing a motion to vacate has “harmed this office and our House majority.” House Democrats have signaled they’ll provide the votes to overcome a planned blockade by conservatives and pass the long-stalled aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. However, if Republicans add political amendments or measures that weaken the bill, Democrats won’t provide the votes. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene embarrassed herself and wasted everyone’s time by repeatedly proposing absurd and juvenile amendments to the foreign aid package, including “space laser technology on the southern border,” requiring lawmakers voting for Ukraine aid to “conscript in the Ukrainian military,” redirecting Ukraine aid to deport undocumented migrants, prohibiting aid for Ukraine unless the country bans abortion, and offsetting the cost of aid to Ukraine with the salaries of lawmakers who support it. In response, Florida Democrat Jared Moskowitz proposed renaming Greene’s office in the House the “Neville Chamberlain Room” (the British prime minister known for his policy of “appeasement” toward Adolf Hitler), and naming Greene “Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy to the United States Congress.” The House is expected to hold a series of votes Saturday on the aid package with the Senate taking it up next week. (Punchbowl News / Axios / CNN / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Washington Post)

3/ The Biden administration imposed new sanctions on Iran’s drone, steel, and auto industries in response to its missile attack on Israel. The new package is designed to “degrade and disrupt” Iran’s drone production. The U.K. also announced sanctions against Iranian military figures and organizations, and E.U. said they would increase sanctions against Iran. Tehran, meanwhile, said “We told the Americans in messages clearly” that Iran’s decision “to punish” Israel was “definite and final,” adding that they’re “not looking” for further escalation in the region. (Politico / Axios / Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN)

poll/ 53% of Americans under 30 say they’ll “definitely be voting” in the 2024 presidential election – on par with 2020 polling, which indicated 54% planned to vote. If the election were held today, 56% of likely young voters said they would vote for Biden, while 37% said they’d support Trump. (Harvard Youth Poll)

Five years ago today: Day 819: Inadequate.
Six years ago today: Day 454: This Russia thing.