GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Oct. 26th, where your fill-in Huddle host is trying (but thus far failing) to get excited for the Braves-Astros World Series, which kicks off tonight. Sigh. BLOWING THE WHISTLE — It's no secret that Congress has been left in the dark about Havana Syndrome for years. And while the Biden administration is trying to change that, the victims are getting restless. New documents obtained by your fill-in Huddle host and Lara Seligman show that the State Department, as early as 2018, was administering its own internal medical tests that were specifically designed to evaluate patients who experienced "directed energy exposure" — years before Congress even knew that the government was zeroing in on the directed-energy theory. We obtained several previously unreported documents , including disclosure forms that detail the exam and how it's administered. They shed new light on the State Department's much-criticized handling of the unexplained health incidents that have afflicted more than 200 U.S. diplomats and CIA officers on every continent except Antarctica. U.S. officials only told lawmakers this year about the directed-energy testing for victims, even though the State Department was doing these evaluations as early as June 2018. And, as we've reported, directed-energy is U.S. intelligence officials' leading source theory for the mysterious ailments. Additional documents appear to corroborate claims by one of the victims, Mark Lenzi, who says the State Department has been retaliating against him for speaking out publicly about his ordeal as well as working closely with lawmakers. Just last month, the department revoked Lenzi's administrative leave, which he uses to attend therapy sessions and to participate in various medical studies related to his traumatic brain injuries. The State Department has been accused of downplaying the ailments and reflexively dismissing the victims' concerns — and these new documents are sure to add fuel to those claims. Lara and I have much, much more here. ABOUT-FACE? ABOUT-MACE: Some viewed her decision to come out swinging against Donald Trump, then pivoting to Democrats, as a sign she was doing some course-correcting. Now, Rep. Nancy Mace's (R-S.C.) recent vote to refer a criminal contempt case against Steve Bannon to the Justice Department has left some of her colleagues scratching their heads. Olivia talked to 20 Republicans who had some thoughts on the move, with some wondering if Mace "is slowly arcing her political trajectory back toward her post-Jan. 6 image as one of the few House Republicans skeptical of a Donald Trump-ruled GOP." Some cited different motivations, including suggesting she is seeking the spotlight. But many of Mace's colleagues also dismissed suggestions that she is making political calculations (and then re-calculations), instead praising her for being brave, tough, sticking to her principles, and willing to split from the pack when she sees fit. To them, they don't see inconsistencies. And they also say more goes into votes than meets the eye. My colleague writes: "Mace's vote on the Bannon contempt referral didn't deter her allies: Fellow freshman Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) lauded her 'true grit' for breaking from most of her party. Yet it also emboldened her critics: Pro-Trump freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said her colleague 'stabbed' her voters in the back by flipping on Trump." A lot more here from Olivia. TED MOVES IT AHEAD — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) isn't planning to slow-walk the president's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, a source familiar with the matter tells your fill-in Huddle host. Cruz, you'll recall, has been forcing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to eat up valuable floor time on largely non-controversial foreign-policy nominees, as part of the Texas Republican's protest over the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2. While it might appear that Cruz is letting up a bit, last week he put a hold on Biden's pick to lead the State Department's Middle East bureau, and could still hold up dozens of other nominees who will soon be heading to the Senate floor for consideration. Bloomberg's Nick Wadhams first reported Cruz's intentions on the Burns nomination. YOU GET A SUBPOENA, YOU GET A SUBPOENA — The Jan. 6 committee is going to be issuing more subpoenas this week, its chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told Nick following a Monday evening meeting of the panel — though he didn't elaborate on whom the panel would target. When asked about a Rolling Stone story alleging links between members of Congress and protesters, Thompson said it was something they'd heard, "but it's the first time we've seen something in writing." "Obviously it becomes part of the broader investigation to know that other people have heard it too," he said. "Obviously, there were some things attributed to some people that would be very interested in our investigation." CONGRESS, MEME-IFIED — A vulgar far-right meme is quickly spreading through the House Republican Conference. A few days after Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) concluded a floor speech by saying "Let's go Brandon," Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) wore a cloth mask with the phrase emblazoned on it. The chant has become a "code" of sorts for "F--- Joe Biden" in conservative social media circles after NASCAR driver Brandon Brown won a race earlier this month that brought cheers of "F--- Joe Biden" from the crowd — though the announcers thought they were chanting "Let's go Brandon." Olivia snapped a pic of Duncan wearing the mask as he was leaving the House floor on Monday night. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is also displaying a Brandon poster outside of her office. | 
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