Thread by @MZanona

Happy first day of the 117th Congress!

I took a turn at the helm of Playbook today, with the help of the great @heatherscope @sarahnferris & @burgessev.

Here's everything you need to know about a *very* newsy day and week ahead >> politico.com/newsletters/pl…

The main event, of course, is the speaker's vote. And Pelosi's allies are 100% confident she'll reclaim gavel, even if it takes a few hours.

But she has little room for error — Pelosi's office was even emailing members up until the last-minute to reconfirm their attendance.

BY THE NUMBERS:

-There are 222 Dems & 211 Republicans this Congress.

-We're expecting 1 Dem absence & 2 GOP absences.

-There are 10 Dems who opposed Pelosi in 2019 who are still around.

-5 will back Pelosi, and the other 5 will either vote present or say someone else’s name

ALSO happening today: the House will hold a moment of silence for Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died from coronavirus complications.

Am told the Louisiana delegation has been coordinating efforts to honor his memory, including passing out Louisiana lapel pins for members to wear.

OH and if all that wasn't enough, there's a rebellion brewing in the GOP, courtesy of Trump:

12 GOP senators have now said they support challenging the election results on Jan. 6 — despite McConnell urging them not to.

And Republicans are taking pot shots at each other over it.