GOP FLOATS CHANGING SPEAKER NOMINATION RULES More than 90 House Republicans from different factions of the conference, led by Fitzpatrick and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), are calling for a special meeting to consider an amendment to raise the threshold needed to elect a speaker. Read the letter to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik What it means: Right now, only a majority is needed to choose a speaker within the GOP conference. This amendment would raise that threshold so a majority of the whole House — the same threshold as the final floor vote — would be needed to nominate a speaker. A person familiar with the amendment said the goal would be so Republicans elect a speaker “as a family” so that they don’t have to go multiple rounds on the House floor as happened with McCarthy’s speaker’s race in January. More from Olivia — Daniella Diaz CAPITOL POLICE STILL SPARRING OVER JAN. 6 FOOTAGE In the month since House Republicans invited media to access — and in some cases publish — Jan. 6 surveillance footage, disagreements between GOP lawmakers and U.S. Capitol Police leadership have flared, according to interviews, court filings and correspondence reviewed by POLITICO. What’s happening: Capitol Police have long warned against a wide release of Jan. 6 footage over concerns that it would threaten the security of the Capitol complex and allow bad actors to exploit vulnerabilities. Those concerns have persisted since the House Administration Committee began giving journalists, Jan. 6 defendants and others permission to access footage from the day of the attack, with a list of restrictions and guidelines. On Sept. 18, USCP Chief Thomas Manger sent a letter to House Administration Chair Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Ranking Member Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), saying the department was “concerned about further exposure of the Capitol Complex’s security posture” as well as protecting ongoing investigations, according to a copy of the previously unreported letter. Loudermilk, who has been the GOP’s point man on the Jan. 6 footage, said Republicans are reviewing the decision but characterized it as an attempt by the Capitol Police to try to restrict the media’s ability to publish footage from the day that a pro-Trump mob breached the building and caused a delay in the counting of the Electoral College vote. “What they’re trying to do — they can’t stop us from accessing it — what they’re trying to do is prohibit us from allowing you guys to release it,” Loudermilk told Jordain. Asked if he thought the Capitol Police had the ability to do that, Loudermilk said he didn’t believe so and “we’re just going to keep pressing on.” It’s unclear how many journalists have already reviewed footage or how many clips have been approved for release but several news outlets and reporters have indicated they have taken advantage of the access. USCP split-screen: The Capitol Police, in a statement, characterized differences with the committee as minimal and said the restrictions that Loudermilk’s panel imposed were “reasonable.” “We have a very good relationship with the Committee, which has done a lot to support and improve our Department. We appreciate the fact that they worked through our concerns around this sensitive subject,” the department said in a statement. “Although, for security reasons we would have preferred not to publicize the many ways we protect the Capitol Complex, the viewing procedures the Committee set forth are reasonable and we respect the fact that Congress has a right to obtain and distribute the video.” But in recent court filings, the department has been more direct about their concerns about the potential impact of the GOP’s access plan. Thomas DiBiase, USCP’s general counsel, said in a filing late last week that Capitol Police alerted the committee “of its security concerns with making this amount of footage available to the broader public.” In another filing, the Capitol Police said the committee implemented its plans “over the concerns” of the police. A scoopy backstory: The Capitol Police appealed over the summer to its leaders — the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, and the architect of the Capitol — to formally designate the entire collection of Jan. 6 footage “security information,” a legal designation that restricts its dissemination. The board appeared to be leaning in that direction at least as of late July. A previously unreported draft decision paper, reviewed by POLITICO, to designate all Jan. 6 footage as “security information” garnered the signatures on July 20 of both Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson and Acting Architect of Capitol Chere Rexroat. But, based on court filings, it appears the plan has been shelved, so the USCP has instead opted to treat the footage as “security information” without the explicit backing of the board. Neither the Senate SAA or the Architect of the Capitol responded to a request for comment. — Jordain Carney and Kyle Cheney
| 
