© AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Several Republicans came out strongly against a push to temporarily give Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) more power and put the House back in operation on the chamber's 16th day without a Speaker.

Calls to give McHenry more authority grew louder after Speaker-designate Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) fell 18 votes short of the threshold needed to become Speaker on the second vote on Wednesday.

But after Jordan said he'd support a resolution to give McHenry more authority, several Republicans including Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (Pa.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) rejected the move and called on the conference to support Jordan.

"We made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work. ... We decided that wasn't where we're going to go," Jordan said, indicating he would keep running for Speaker.

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More from The Hill:

• McCarthy scolds Gaetz in GOP meeting: ‘Sit your ass down’
• Gaetz says he will do ‘everything possible’ to stop empowering McHenry

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors in the Georgia 2020 election interference case.
  
  

• The Hill's Alexander Bolton digs into the role immigration policy debates are set to play in Congress's consideration of funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
  
  

• State Department official Josh Paul resigned over the administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Paul cited the "provision of lethal arms to Israel."

©  The Hill/Greg Nash

A "minibus" package of three appropriations bill in the Senate overcame a hurdle Thursday as Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said he expects to get a vote on his amendment after negotiations with Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

• Schumer previously called the amendment, which would allow veterans whose finances go into conservatorship to keep their firearms, a "poison pill."
  
  
• Kennedy told The Hill, "We’re going to hotline some new language. Frankly, I think it makes my amendment stronger."

At the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) first meeting with a Democratic majority during President Biden's term, commissioners voted 3-2 to begin the process of reinstating net neutrality rules adopted in 2015 and repealed during the Trump administration, The Hill's Rebecca Klar reports.

The Hill's Elizabeth Crisp asked several experts to weigh in on President Biden's trip to Israel and its significance amid the Israel-Gaza war. Read their responses in The Hill's 12:30 Report here.

©  Mandel Ngan, Pool via AP

The State Department on Thursday urged U.S. citizens in Lebanon "to make plans to depart as soon as possible while commercial options are still available." On Tuesday, the department advised U.S. citizens against traveling to the country. 

Related: US citizens urged to exercise ‘increased caution’ overseas amid ‘increased tensions’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is requesting U.S. Capitol Police preserve surveillance footage and photos, police reports and arrest records related to a protest Wednesday centered on demands for a cease-fire in Israel and Gaza. 

"Ending the partisan Speaker of the House" — Former Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.). (Read here)

"America needs a grand strategy for outer space" — Tyler D. Bates, MS, a professional space concept developer and veteran of the United States Space Force and Air Force. (Read here)

21 days until the third GOP presidential primary debate.

Friday, 5 p.m. ET: NewsNation airs interviews with GOP presidential primary candidates Ron DeSantis and Asa Hutchinson from Thursday's 2024 Presidential Forum at Winthrop University in South Carolina. (Both NewsNation and The Hill are owned by Nexstar Media Group.)

Also Friday: President Biden welcomes European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a U.S.-EU Summit. 

You're all caught up! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you tomorrow!