“Fresh off their staggering electoral losses this month, Republicans are urging President Trump to start hitting the campaign trail for them next year with control of Congress on the line,” Politico reports.
“And in a sign of their rising anxiety over Democrats’ renewed enthusiasm, the requests for rallies have started rolling in.”
The Senate unanimously passed a bill to compel the Justice Department to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sending it to President Trump’s desk, Axios reports.
“President Donald Trump’s pick to lead NASA, Jared Isaacman, will face another Senate confirmation hearing on Dec. 3, following the administration’s renomination of the fintech billionaire to run the agency,” Bloomberg reports.
“Health officials on Monday linked for the first time the measles outbreak that began in Texas with another in Utah and Arizona, a finding that could end America’s status as a nation that has eliminated measles,” the New York Times reports.
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“Calley Means, a confidant to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is taking a permanent post in the Trump administration, where he is expected to serve as a bridge between the Make America Healthy Again movement and President Trump’s broader MAGA coalition,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Former Vice President Kamala Harris plans to make a surprise appearance on Tuesday with the Democratic candidate in a closely watched Tennessee special election for Congress, marking the first time since she left office that she has returned to the campaign trail for another candidate,” the New York Times reports.
The House on Tuesday voted to publicly rebuke retiring Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) over his ploy to handpick his Democratic successor for his Chicago-area congressional seat, 236 to 183.
Twenty-three Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in voting yes on the resolution.
A new New York Times/KFF survey of immigrants — both documented and undocumented, and varying widely in how and when they arrived — “found that about half of all immigrants say they feel less safe since President Trump took office.”
“Still, large majorities also say their own future, and that of their children, remains bright, with the concept of the American dream retaining its powerful appeal. About 70 percent said that if they could go back in time, they would still make the choice to migrate to the United States.”
“The Trump administration announced on Tuesday an aggressive plan to continue dismantling the Education Department, ending the agency’s role in supporting academics at elementary and high schools and in expanding access to college,” the New York Times reports.
President Trump’s approval rating fell to 38%, the lowest since his return to power, with Americans unhappy about his handling of the cost of living and the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
“Rep. Chuy García (D-IL) has denied purposely clearing a path for his chief of staff to take his seat without facing a primary, but a document filed with Illinois elections officials shows he was the first to sign her nominating petitions, days before he announced his retirement,” Politico reports.
“The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to force the Justice Department to release more information about the case it built against the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — putting legislation on a track toward the desk of President Trump, who spent months trying to kill it,” Politico reports.
“The 427-1 vote came after a long campaign to circumvent House Republican leaders and White House officials who fought tooth and nail to convince members of their party to oppose the measure.”
“Meta did not break the law when it acquired nascent rivals, a federal judge said on Tuesday, handing a major win to the $1.51 trillion company and dealing a blow to the government’s efforts to rein in the power of tech giants,” the New York Times reports.
A federal court blocked Texas from using its new congressional map for the 2026 midterms — which created five new likely Republican districts — and ordered the state to use its 2021 map, Punchbowl News reports.
Texas Tribune: “The decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who pushed through this unusual mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Trump…”
“It was not immediately clear if the state still has a legal path to restoring the new map in time for 2026.”
Jonathan Last: The president of the United States gave a speech yesterday before a group of McDonald’s corporate workers and franchise owners. I’m going to quote a few sections of his remarks at great length, because if you have not listened to Trump speaking recently, the decline in his cognitive abilities is a bit shocking.”
“The point of this exercise is not to clown on Trump, but to give everyone a baseline understanding of where he is, with the mentals, as we try to understand how he will respond to increasing pressures in the coming months…”
“Bottom line: This is a man in noticeable mental decline.”
President Trump dismissed criticism of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying: “Things happen,” the AP reports.
He insisted the Crown Prince “knew nothing about it” and said of Khashoggi that “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman.”
Then Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked the question, calling her “fake news” and chastising her saying: “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking him a question like that.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
