Semafor: “The White House faced calls for policy and personnel shakeups after brutal midterm elections, with the defense secretary under most pressure.”
“Senior Republican lawmakers and strategists have reportedly pressed the Trump administration to fire the Pentagon chief and swiftly end the Iran war, blamed for fuel-price inflation that topped voters’ concerns. Their calls add to mounting criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.”
CNN: “Democrats, who have won their largest majority in the House in nearly 20 years, are on the verge of exceeding the 257 seats at the start of Barack Obama’s presidency and the 258 at the start of Bill Clinton’s tenure. They’ve already flipped over 40 seats.”
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“One of the big issues of disagreement that kept showing up when it came to the Jewish community was my position on Israel. I’m not going to change my position, but… I intend to lead on all the issues that we agree on — whether it’s the right to a union or the right to health care, clean air, clean water, or religious pluralism, and respect for the Constitution — and I hope that over time I can earn their support on those issues.”
— Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI), quoted by Politico.
“The Trump era is over, and we need to look forward to new leadership in our party and our country.”
— Former Gov. Chris Christie, quoted by Politico.
“The race to win one of the most coveted 2028 endorsements is already underway, and it’s taking place on Jim Clyburn’s phone,” Politico reports.
“The South Carolina Democratic powerbroker, whose state goes first on the presidential primary calendar, said in an exclusive interview with Playbook for ‘The Conversation’ that he fielded four phone calls the day after the election.”
“Among them were Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and though Clyburn didn’t specify them all, he said he’s recently been in touch with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and noted spending time on the campaign trail with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock.”
“And Clyburn, whose endorsement helped rescue Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020, is already laying out what it will take to win him over.”
“As the clock ticks down for the Senate to pass the so-called Sunshine Protection Act to mandate year-round daylight saving time in most of the United States, President Trump on Wednesday said he planned to ‘keep fighting’ for the change,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Dan Pfeiffer: “Sometimes, politics can be incredibly simple. Voters cared most about affordability, Democrats focused like a laser on affordability, and they convinced people they would do better on the issue.”
“Tavern Research conducted an election-day poll of 3,000 voters: 96% said the cost of living mattered in their vote, and 82% said it was very important.”
“The biggest loser Tuesday night, heading into 2028, was JD Vance. 2028 shifted from a conversation about who could carry the torch of Trumpism, to who can rebuild the movement from shambles.”
— A Republican strategist, quoted by Semafor.
“Voters were unambiguous on Tuesday: Don’t B.S. us. Don’t say you’ll lower prices and end wars and corruption, then do the opposite. It’s really that simple,” Axios reports.
“This isn’t so different from when Americans told Democrats not to B.S. them about Joe Biden’s health, or about the words they should use, or social behaviors they should adopt.”
”Most Americans agree broadly on most things, most of the time. They want competent politicians to focus on issues that meaningfully impact their lives.”
“President Trump has told advisers that he plans to keep raising money for his political operation — a move aimed at salvaging his clout after the GOP’s midterm debacle,” Axios reports.
“Maintaining a political organization — either his existing MAGA Inc. super PAC or one to be created — would give Trump a vehicle to try to influence elections in 2028 and beyond, including the next presidential contest.”
“Democrats are preparing to unleash a wave of investigations that will probe the most sensitive and controversial actions of America’s largest corporations over the past two years, sparking a reckoning among Silicon Valley and Wall Street executives who courted the Trump administration — and who are now bracing for an onslaught,” the Washington Post reports.
Financial Times: America turns on Trump’s tech cheerleaders.
“As Republicans reckon with a historic rout in Tuesday’s midterm elections, calls to extirpate Trump from the right’s politics are resounding more forcefully than at any point since the first of his three presidential bids,” the Washington Post reports.
”But in a party that has, over the intervening decade, remade itself to a once-unimaginable extent in the president’s image, GOP leaders and activists are finding that creating a ‘post-Trump’ party is easier said than done.”
“For nearly two decades, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has needled and probed Wall Street at every turn,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“She has called the private-equity industry legal ‘looting’ and written a bill that could make it easier to jail executives. She’s called for criminal probes into banking executives for failing to catch blowups. She’s sought to delay the biggest IPO of all time, SpaceX, and raised questions about Anthropic’s existential risks to humanity. She has pledged to look into bankers’ ties to Jeffrey Epstein and dealings with the Trump administration.”
“Now, the Massachusetts Democrat is about to take the controls of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, giving her the kind of expansive authority over the financial industry she’s long sought—and Wall Street has feared.”
“How I got here, I’ll take that to the grave with me.”
— Flávio Bolsonaro, quoted by the New York Times.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who faces a likely congressional impeachment effort in the coming weeks, released a video message on Thursday defending his tenure and vowing to fight for his job,” the New York Times reports.
Said Hegseth: “We are more determined than ever — more resolute than ever — to finish what we have started.”
“Some prominent GOP lawmakers, frustrated with Mr. Hegseth’s handling of the Iran war and his purge of top generals, had been pushing for President Trump to replace him even before the rout of Republicans in the midterm elections. Those calls have only grown in the days since.”
Semafor: “Tuesday’s Democratic landslides gave the party full control of multiple swing states — not just Shapiro’s Pennsylvania, but Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Minnesota. Democrats won legislative trifectas big enough to pass progressive bills that had gathered dust and lint under Republican control.”
“Instead, swing-state governors plan to focus on popular economic proposals that won over voters –– lowering living costs, taxes, and healthcare — and not the left-wing agenda items demonized in billions of dollars in GOP ads.”
ABC News: What are Democrats’ plans after historic midterm wins?
“The 2026 midterms ended in a massive blue wave that will change the balance of power in Washington and also, maybe, blow up the presidential map for 2028,” CNN reports.
“Democrats’ success in many red states could open new paths to 270 electoral votes and rewrite the playbook for a winning presidential campaign.”
NBC News: Newly elected Democrats could become 2028 presidential power brokers.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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