Special Report

CONTEMPT FOR VOTERS: "For a lot of Republican voters, they were extremely disheartened by last Tuesday’s election results... Republican voters actually do want their Senate to be part of reclaiming the country. Whether that means codifying some of Trump’s achievements that he’s done through executive order, dealing with Temporary Protected Status or refugee reform, border control, or H-1B visa issues... they also worry that Thune doesn't know what it's gonna take to win those independents back who were willing to vote for Republicans just a couple of years ago if he didn't even know what to do in the last two years." @MZHemingway

SUBPOENA BATTLE LINES DRAWN: "My colleague and I did a story in August about how Democrats were already starting to have discussions about these investigations... whether it is about Trump, his family, and what they say would fall under corruption, possible financial benefiting... We’re two months away before the majority flips, and this is already starting a pretty strong confrontation between the Democrats and the White House." @Olivia_Beavers "Congress has that Article I authority to conduct legitimate oversight. what Will Scharf's White House Counsel letter shows, though, is that it has to be legitimate... This time, the White House is saying, 'We’re going to be much smarter about how we fight back against this.'" @MZHemingway

LEGAL BATTLE LINES DRAWN: "Members of Congress have a big, substantial grant of immunity—Article I, Section 6 Speech and Debate Clause extends to the staff as well—it doesn’t mean that they can get away with anything, and what I think we’re going to see is a replay of the Clinton years." @hughhewitt

NEWSOM DEATH ROW COMMUTATIONS: California Governor Gavin Newsom is under fire after commuting 548 death row sentences to life without parole. District attorneys are challenging the legality of the move in the State Supreme Court, calling it an abuse of power that defies voter-approved mandates.

POLITICAL REALIGNMENT: "I personally think that it means that we’ve had a realignment yet. But it is deafening a rebuke to the status quo and to the politicians who were associated with it... I suspect that the caucuses in both parties in the Senate have presented a lot of IOUs to those Senate leaders who want them to stay because they owed them." @brithume

DIPLOMATIC SHUTTLE TO MOSCOW: Following U.S.-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi that secured the largest Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange of the war, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ireland.

HISTORIC WIN IN MISSISSIPPI: AP is declaring Democrat Scott Colom the winner in the Mississippi Senate race, becoming the state's first Black Senator since Reconstruction. With Mary Peltola leading in AK, the Democratic Senate majority could reach 56 seats.

CHINESE MILITARY CHIP LEAK: Reports indicate Nvidia's board may meet tonight to consider ousting CEO Jensen Huang following claims of a second affair and an ongoing probe into a suspected Chinese spy network that smuggled $7.5B in AI chips.

CABINET THREATS & SCRUTINY: @pdoocy reports on escalating friction between the administration and Capitol Hill. White House Counsel Will Scharf issued a stern letter to incoming House Oversight Chair Robert Garcia, warning that subpoenas aimed at harassing executive officials could amount to "blatant criminality." The announcement comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is relocated to a military base due to Iranian threats, while President Trump publicly reaffirmed support for War Secretary Pete Hegseth during Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery.

NVIDIA PROBE: "I spent my time in the Senate today, and you are hearing more and more senators from both parties say that they need to investigate what is going on... That is something that could see bipartisan support for digging deeper into what is going on there—what is China’s influence in this situation." @StefWKight "Is the President sort of pulled in two directions? Nvidia is very important to stock prices and to keeping the economy humming. On the other hand, national security, that’s real." @TheJuanWilliams

LAME-DUCK RACE AGAINST TIME: "First of all, he looked really uncomfortable under your questioning... He has never been a true Trump guy, but he lives in the time of Donald Trump as the governing force on Capitol Hill. Even today, when you saw the people who were opposing him for becoming Minority Leader in the Senate, they were pursuing a conservative agenda... In some ways though, what we are seeing with Hegseth and with Thune is a result of everybody—even Vance said, the war was the reason for that blue wave." @TheJuanWilliams

PENTAGON FUNDING HURDLE: "Especially when you are looking at the kind of defense money that Hegseth has been asking for... And even in the Senate they are still going to need that Democratic buy-in unless they are able to move this reconciliation package—which even that is unlikely... There are Democrats, of course, who want to make sure that the military is funded... but at the same time, they don't want to see Hegseth in charge at the Department of War, and they also want to make sure that more money is not going to this war in Iran." @StefWKight

A FITTING END: "One, I think it’s a fitting end to an unremarkable congressional career with Thomas Massie. It’s basically been political show votes over actual accomplishments all the way through... Clearly impeachment is not the right form for policy disputes... What it does secondarily is show a real challenge that the Secretary is gonna have with incoming big Democrat majorities. They kind of don’t care about the specifics—they want a pound of flesh on this. If you cannot get President Trump for these policies, Hegseth's probably their next best option." @HolmesJosh

BORDER CREDIBILITY & IMMIGRATION: "We had that debate three different times in the Senate... The wheels came off at the end... But the President because he secured the border, he is the guy who has the credibility if he wants to go down that path. But it would depend entirely on what that would look like." @LeaderJohnThune

BOUND BY SUPERMAJORITIES: "That works both ways... We just sent the Protect College Sports legislation over there, and I’m hoping we will send permit reform over there, neither of which they have passed in the House." "It’s easier to pass things in the House—it’s a simple majority. When it comes to the Senate, it takes a supermajority for most controversial legislation, unless we do it through reconciliation... I served in the House for three terms. I love to send stuff to the Senate and then blame the Senate. That’s a normal pretty exercise around here." @LeaderJohnThune

CANCELING RECESS: "We have already committed to extending the calendar and making sure that we are there doing everything that we can to finish our agenda... That starts with judges that are lifetime appointments...that ought to be the number one priority." @LeaderJohnThune

CAMPUS HAZING PROBE: Ohio State placed its Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity on interim suspension after video showed two pledges engulfed in flames. Columbus Police and Arson units are investigating possible criminal hazing involving accelerants that left victims with 2nd and 3rd-degree burns.

2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE BEGINS: A progressive organization launched a "Ready for AOC" effort in 35 states for 2028. While GOP figures welcome the potential matchup, AOC brushed off speculation, even as NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani meets with union leaders to build progressive momentum.