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Archives for 2026

Where Is Cindy Hyde-Smith?

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“As the Mississippi Senate race still remains too close to call, Democrat Scott Colom and GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith have taken completely different approaches towards the public,” CNN reports.

“Since Election Day, Colom has held at least eight events and capitalized on the national attention of the race to flood the airwaves and make his case for why Democrats should no longer count out a state historically considered a Republican stronghold. Meanwhile, Hyde-Smith has not been seen publicly since she left her election night watch party just outside of Jackson after declaring that she would remain her state’s junior senator.”

NewsNation: Hyde-Smith faces upset in tight Mississippi poll.

Jensen Huang Spy Scandal Rocks AI Race

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“The world’s most powerful AI executive admitted Sunday to an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, sending shock waves through an industry built on his singular influence,” Axios reports.

“Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has fashioned himself as the indispensable leader of an indispensable company — a $4.5 trillion behemoth with unparalleled clout in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and inside President Trump’s White House.”

“Trump stood by Huang on Sunday evening, telling reporters that the Nvidia CEO is ‘an honorable guy’ and ‘probably has an excuse’ for his infidelity.”

New York Post: Trump defends “honorable” Nvidia boss after explosive affair with Chinese “spy” revealed.

Bipartisan Support for Israel Erodes

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“Vice President JD Vance’s message on Israel last week was as blunt as anything coming from Democratic politicians,” the New York Times reports.

“For Republicans to win elections after the midterm wipeout, Mr. Vance wrote on Wednesday, they must end the war against Iran, which President Trump and Israel started, and also ‘change our relationship with Israel.'”

“Coming from a leading Republican who is considering a presidential run in 2028, it was an extraordinary volley against U.S. policy on Israel, which over decades has received robust military, diplomatic and economic support.”

“That backing had long been a bipartisan pillar of U.S. foreign policy. But it has eroded in recent years, first among Democrats angry about Israel’s war in Gaza and the treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and more recently among some Republicans who blame Israel’s government for encouraging Mr. Trump to launch the war in Iran.”

Congress Returns to a Reordered Washington

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“Last week, voters elected a historic new Congress, handing Democrats unified control after two years shut out of power,” the New York Times reports.

“On Monday, the old Congress returns to Washington with a full list of unfinished business, a large flock of lame-duck members who may or may not show up for key votes, and a transformed political landscape that will shape Republicans’ final weeks in the majority.”

“Hanging in the balance are a spending agreement that must be reached to keep the government funded beyond early December, a bill that would speed the approval of infrastructure projects throughout the country, major defense and agricultural legislation, as well as a slew of nominations that President Trump wants to push through while he still has the chance. Also on the agenda is an effort to impeach Pete Hegseth, the embattled defense secretary, whose leadership of the war with Iran has drawn bipartisan criticism.”

Elizabeth Warren Gears Up to Take On Wall Street

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“Brace yourself for the most progressive — and aggressive — Senate Banking Committee chair in decades,” Politico reports.

“Elizabeth Warren, the longtime Wall Street antagonist poised to take over the Banking panel next year, is preparing a sweeping policy and oversight agenda that will put her in a key position to influence the Democratic Party’s debate over economic populism ahead of 2028.”

Jeffries Weighs How to Handle Trump

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“President Donald Trump said after Tuesday’s midterm drubbing he wants to ‘work with’ Democrats. Now Hakeem Jeffries has to decide if his party will play ball,” Politico reports.

“As he prepares to lead a massive House Democratic majority, perhaps the presumptive speaker’s toughest call will be how to handle Trump. After years of dismissing and denigrating the president, Jeffries has to weigh varying opinions inside his caucus: Some, including incoming red-district freshmen, want to attempt collaboration, while plenty of others want total war.”

Fed’s Kevin Warsh’s Calendar Shows No Trump Calls

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“Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s most recent calendar, released Friday, shows no record of a conversation with President Donald Trump, even while Trump has said he spoke with Warsh about how to vote at a meeting in September,” the Washington Post reports.

“It’s the fifth calendar since Warsh took office in May to list no meeting or call with the president, though several Senate Democrats asked him this summer to add any such contacts to his publicly released calendars.”

Republicans Have One Last Shot to Pass Their Agenda

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“Lawmakers return to Washington on Monday for the first time since Democrats reclaimed the House and the Senate in the midterm elections, setting up a legislative sprint before the transfer of power on Jan. 3,” the Washington Post reports.

“Some Republicans are pushing to do as much as they can before they lose control.”

“Congress is scheduled to be in session for five more weeks before the end of the year — but some Republicans in both chambers are urging their colleagues to work weekends and holidays to confirm as many of President Donald Trump’s nominees and pass as much legislation as they can in the lame-duck session.”

Quote of the Day

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“And we know the truth. Donald Trump led an insurrection. His goal was to remain in power after the American people had voted him out of office. That’s the truth. It was a violent assault. The rioters weren’t ‘peaceful protesters.’ They came armed to stop the official certification of a legitimate election. The criminals who attacked law-enforcement officers that day didn’t deserve pardons. They deserved prison terms. To this day, Trump and his supporters continue to preen and posture like they’re supporters of law enforcement. Here’s my view: You don’t get to turn a blind eye to cops being punched, speared, sprayed, and brutalized and call yourself a friend of law enforcement. What Trump did on January 6, 2021, should never be forgotten. It should follow him to his grave.”

— Former President Joe Biden, in an excerpt of his new memoir in The Atlantic.

Pre-order · Out November 17, 2026Promise Me, America
by Joe Biden · Little, Brown and Company
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Democrats Plan New Home for January 6 Plaque

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“Democrats intend to find a more prominent location to display a memorial plaque honoring the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — which Republicans currently have relegated to the basement of the building,” Politico reports.

“Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, confirmed to Politico he plans to facilitate the move when his party retakes the majority in January. And while he is still working out the logistics, the relocation would send a strong message about how Congress remembers a widely traumatic event that remains politically divisive.”

Democrats Weigh Shutdown Over Iran War

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Punchbowl News: “What was supposed to be a hectic lame-duck session is now a power struggle between ascendant Democrats and President Donald Trump. The odds of a government shutdown have increased dramatically since Democrats’ big win on Tuesday – fueled in part by the public’s opposition to the Iran war – with a Dec. 11 funding deadline looming.”

“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer meet privately this week. One of the challenges they face is whether to provoke a shutdown over Iran. Especially Schumer.”

“Despite helping deliver a massive Election Day, Schumer is facing calls from some progressives for his ouster. It won’t happen, but it raises the stakes for him in the funding fight.”

New House Members Arrive for Orientation

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“Dozens of Democratic House freshmen descended on the Hill this week for new member orientation as their party starts debating how exactly it’ll flex its newfound power,” Politico reports.

“More than 100 incoming members and prospects — overwhelmingly Democrats, but also new Republicans — flooded the halls of Capitol Hill yesterday, with vibes landing somewhere between excitement and newbie nervousness.”

Less Party Loyalty, Big Election Swings

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“President Trump’s Republicans just found out the hard way what other political parties are seeing across western democracies: Voters are fed up, they have lost trust in political parties and they don’t have much patience when they feel politicians aren’t listening,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The massive shift in the midterm elections is a sign of a new political era taking hold from Paris, Texas, to Paris, France. Voters are becoming less attached to the parties their parents voted for and are more likely to try out new parties or new political pitches, on the left and right.”

“And while they are willing to give insurgent parties or populist figures like Trump a shot, they will also lose patience quickly if they don’t deliver.”

Elon Musk’s Empire Braces for Democratic Crackdown

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“Elon Musk’s sprawling empire — from rockets to robots, electric cars to AI — is facing a political onslaught with few parallels in modern corporate history,” Axios reports.

“The world’s richest man confronts a constellation of risks spanning the halls of Congress, his Texas industrial empire, Wall Street and his vision for AI supremacy.”

“To Democrats, Musk embodies corrosive forces of the MAGA era — extreme wealth, billionaire influence over government, the gutting of federal institutions, the poisoning of social media and the unchecked power of AI.”

Trump Pushes Back on JD Vance’s Iran War Post

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“President Donald Trump pushed back Sunday on Vice President JD Vance’s social media post blaming the Iran war for Republicans’ midterm losses, saying Vance left out whether he would make the same decision again. Trump said he would,” Politico reports.

Said Trump: “He was right, other than one thing. He should have made one other statement. ‘If you had it to do again, would you do it again?’ The answer is yes.”

Trump Concedes Immigration Policies Hurt Republicans

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Wall Street Journal: “Trump acknowledged that his hard-line immigration policies may have hurt Republicans in Tuesday’s midterm elections—and he expressed openness to reaching a compromise on the issue with newly empowered Democrats.”

Said Trump: “For getting people out, I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out.”

But he added: “When you go into a hotel and you have a woman that’s worked there as—you know, as a maid, as a cleaner, as a this, as a that, as a waitress, a lotta good things, great job—and all of a sudden, they’re being taken outta the country, it’s tough.”

“The president suggested that immigration was an area where he could work with Democrats, saying that such a deal would be ‘something that’s actually doable.’”

Trump Backs Jensen Huang Amid Spy Investigation

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“President Trump defended Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Sunday night, even as the company’s board launched an investigation into his affair with a suspected Chinese spy,” Axios reports.

“The blowback to Huang’s relationship is only getting more intense by the hour, with multiple members of Congress calling for probes and investors saying the news could put a cloud over the entire AI trade.”

Taegan Goddard

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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