Potential rivals seem to make moves in light of Trump's weak spots: The Note

The TAKE with Rick Klein

The latest round of Jan. 6 hearings comes to a close Thursday night by bringing the focus where it's really always been: on the actions, and often the inactions, of former President Donald Trump.

But while it's easy enough to argue the hearings don't matter politically, there's a certain group of Republicans who are acting otherwise. It's becoming a busy time for those with possible ambitions in 2024.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is keeping a national policy and rhetorical focus that has him surging in too-early presidential polling. The candidate who Gov. Larry Hogan endorsed lost in a head-to-head primary matchup with Trump's pick in Hogan's home state on Tuesday, but Hogan is already warning that he won't vote for the new GOP nominee, citing extremist views and election denialism.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is running biographical digital ads targeting viewers in New Hampshire and a series of battleground states. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley put her name back in the 2024 mix by tweeting that if President Joe Biden signs a new nuclear agreement with Iran, "The next President will shred it – on her first day in office."

Then there's Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, who has a series of policy and political speeches coming just after Thursday night's Jan. 6 hearing. He'll be in Arizona on Friday just hours before Trump himself -- backing a different candidate for governor.

Pence was in Washington on Wednesday, where he was received warmly by House Republicans behind closed doors -- and got some friendly nudges from conservative House Republicans about 2024.

"He didn't say that [he would run], but people were encouraging him to do so," Rep. Don Bacon, of Nebraska, told ABC News' Rachel Scott. "People were saying, 'Hey, we need more of you in 2024,' and I would agree."

Another measure of the moment is the timing of the Senate's bipartisan agreement on reforms to the Electoral Count Act. While that may be viewed as a way for some Republicans to distract from the Jan. 6 committee, it would mark substantive changes that close the very loopholes Trump and his team tried to exploit in the aftermath of the last presidential election.

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

As Senate Democrats aim to codify the right to same-sex and interracial marriage -- a response to concerns after the overturning of Roe v. Wade -- they proceed not knowing if there is enough Republican support for passage.

They'll need 10 GOP senators to vote with them to evade a filibuster and send the legislation to President Joe Biden's desk, but there are no guarantees.

A possible vote comes after the House on Tuesday easily passed legislation that codified the marriage rights with the support of 47 Republicans (while 157 voted against it).

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic whip, raised concerns about the timing of voting before the House's approval.

"We have more priorities than we have time," Durbin told reporters on Tuesday while expressing support for the legislation.

That comment garnered some backlash, with Durbin's detractors imploring Democrats to acknowledge the urgency of the issue. But Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he wanted to bring the legislation to the floor -- having been "impressed" by its bipartisan margins in the House -- and the White House urged the Senate to "act swiftly."

"We need this legislation, and we urge Congress to move as quickly as possible. And it's something the vast majority of the country support just like they support restoring Roe, stopping a national abortion ban and protecting the right to use contraception," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The TIP with Alisa Wiersema

One of this year's most anticipated midterm contests has seen a flurry of activity in recent days as Senate candidates in Pennsylvania trade barbs online -- a preview of what is likely to come on the campaign trail in the coming weeks.

The Democratic Senate nominee, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, gave his first interview to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette since suffering a stroke ahead of the May primary election. He offered an optimistic and confident assessment of his own health.

As reported by the Post-Gazette, Fetterman insisted he has "no physical limits" while acknowledging struggles with hearing. He also said he has been working with a speech therapist to overcome issues with slurring and missing words when speaking.

"I might miss a word every now and then in a conversation, or I might slur two words. Even then, I think that's infrequent. So I feel like we are ready to run, and that's the only issues I have. That's the absolute truth, 100%," Fetterman told the Post-Gazette.

The interview comes ahead of one of Fetterman's first in-person forays back onto the campaign trail. On Thursday, he is slated to participate in a fundraiser in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, hosted by Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania. The event is closed to press.

Fetterman's physical absence on the trail translated into a heavy presence online as his campaign repeatedly trolled Republican Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz over Oz's longtime ties to New Jersey. In recent days, Oz has been pushing back with memes of his own, including a "John Fetterman Basement Tracker" which counts how long the Democrat has been off the trail.

"John Fetterman continues to take the hiding in basement strategy to a new level. He hasn't had public events or media interviews in months. It's time he starts answering for his crazy views," Brittany Yanick, the Oz campaign communications director, said in a statement this week.

NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight

47. That's the percentage of likely primary voters in Kansas who said that they would vote in favor of an amendment that says the Kansas Constitution does not protect abortion rights. In that same survey, conducted by co/efficient, 43% said they plan to vote against it. This is the only public poll we have so far, but as FiveThirtyEight's Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Nathaniel Rakich write, all signs point to a close race at this point.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. "Start Here" begins Thursday morning with a preview of the Jan. 6 committee's prime-time hearing. ABC's George Stephanopoulos leads us off with his analysis of the hearings so far. Then, ABC's Stephanie Ebbs breaks down the steps Biden is taking to address climate change. And ABC's Josh Margolin reports on a lawsuit filed by the Turpin siblings alleging "severe abuse" in foster care after their 2018 rescue. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

• The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection will hold its next public hearing beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
• Biden will travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for remarks about gun crime and the recent gun reform bill -- and then to Philadelphia for a fundraiser. He'll deliver remarks on guns and crime at 3:15 p.m. ET.

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The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back on Friday for the latest.