“Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the drafting of the highly classified memo this spring warning top Trump administration officials that Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, was in a close relationship with a Chinese spy,” the New York Times reports.
Financial Times: U.S. believes Nvidia’s Huang had a romantic relationship with alleged Chinese spy.
Politico: “The victories give Democrats an opening to pursue long-stalled agendas on housing costs and public education, along with new leverage in fights over taxing wealthy people and corporations and regulating artificial intelligence. Their gains will also reshape the country’s redistricting wars — and test whether Democrats can turn their backlash-fueled victories into changes voters can feel in their daily lives.”
For members: Democrats Now Dominate State Governments
“We don’t have time to sit there and just celebrate what happened on Tuesday. People need us to start this work now and start addressing the things that they wanted to address.”
— Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), quoted by Politico.
“Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed said Sunday that Democrats will work with President Donald Trump to help the American people if ‘he wants to act serious,’ but if the president instead chooses ‘foolishness,’ the incoming senator said he will not find a willing partner in Congress,” ABC News reports.
Said El-Sayed: “Let’s talk about how he is an unserious fool. Think about this war in Iran that every single president had resisted fighting because, of course, it was a dumb idea. Let’s talk about the foolishness of a tariff war with Canada.. Let’s talk about the foolishness of gutting Medicaid to pass tax cuts for the richest people in America.”
“President Trump revealed Sunday it is ‘highly unlikely’ that the U.S. will resume the war in Iran as long as talks over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program continue to make progress,” the New York Post reports.
Said Trump: “It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement. The answer is highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary. They’re a failing nation. It just came out, you saw this year, 301% inflation. Highly unlikely it will be necessary.”
He added: “So it’s highly unlikely I’ll have to. They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off.”
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“I think it’s safe to safe that we are a blue state.”
— Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms, quoted by ABC News.
“Attorney General Todd Blanche refused Sunday to rule out prosecuting Democratic lawmakers who say they’ll investigate Trump officials, a day after President Trump ordered the Justice Department to probe lawmakers,” Axios reports.
“The confrontation threatens a constitutional crisis over the separation of powers: Trump is ordering prosecutors to go after lawmakers in a potential effort to hamper Congress’ power to hold the executive branch accountable.”
Steve Benen: “It’s been nearly 22 months since Donald Trump pardoned every convicted and accused Jan. 6 rioter, and in that time, quite a few of those who received presidential clemency have run into fresh trouble with the law. In fact, Lawfare, a nonprofit publication covering the legal world, published a study over the summer that found at least 97 people charged with crimes in connection with the assault on the Capitol have since been accused of new crimes.”
“Since that tally was released, the list has continued to grow.”
“Democrats could bomb out of the 2028 election if they move further left and refuse to work with President Trump after their sweeping midterm victories, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said,” the New York Post reports.
Said Gingrich: “Bernie Sanders … intends to drive as hard as he can to get a very left-wing Congress. That would be a profound mistake for the Democrats.”
He added: “If the country is reminded how cuckoo these people are, by 2028 they are going to be much more willing to vote for Republicans.”
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“When Republicans go low, what we’re not going to do anymore is just take that, take the high road and turn the other cheek. The days of us not fighting back are over.”
— Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), quoted by Politico.
“Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on Saturday declined to rule out a Senate leadership bid and remained noncommittal on backing Chuck Schumer as majority leader,” Politico reports.
Said Slotkin: “Given what happened on election night, there’s a pretty clear mandate that people want a new generation of leadership, and they want to know what the plan is to actually help their lives. So one way or another, I want to see that.”
“During the first two years of President Donald Trump’s second term, the Justice Department has been on the front lines of some of his most contentious actions, pursuing his perceived foes and agenda with relish and little pushback or oversight from Congressional leaders,” the Washington Post reports.
“The next two years will likely be dramatically different.”
“As Democrats prepare to take control of the House and Senate following sweeping victories in the midterm elections, the Justice Department is bracing for a barrage of subpoenas and investigative inquiries as lawmakers say they will aggressively scrutinize the agency in a way Republicans did not while in the majority.”
“Take, for example, the French Revolution. Remember when Marie Antoinette said, ‘Let them eat cake’? Now, is that a problem of accountability and tyranny, a corrupt government? Or is it a problem of affordability and standard of living? It’s both! Authoritarianism and tyranny are extremely expensive for the people. And it’s the exact same thing when you go down the line with Donald Trump. So, are we going to go after the corruption? Yeah, you’re damn right. And are we going to go after affordability and making people’s lives easier? Yeah, you’re damn right. We’re going to do both of them.”
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by CBS News.
“House Democratic leaders are placing an early emphasis on healthcare as they discuss their immediate priorities upon the swearing-in of the new Congress on Jan. 3,” the Associated Press reports.
“Early votes in the House next year are expected to focus on boosting Medicaid and restoring an enhanced tax subsidy that is designed to lower the cost of Affordable Care Act health plans for millions of enrollees.”
“Democrats are also promising swift action on legislation to stop the war with Iran and to reverse some of President Donald Trump’strade tariffs.”
Said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “We’re going to get out of the gate fast.”
“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday that he has yet to hear from President Donald Trump, though he is expected to be the next speaker of the House,” Politico reports.
Said Jeffries: “I have not spoken to President Trump. It was a big night for the American people. A tremendous repudiation of MAGA extremism, and a cry out for dramatic change.”
“Republicans’ midterm defeat is crushing any remaining hopes that Congress would approve President Donald Trump’s unprecedented $1.5 trillion defense budget request amid an unpopular war in the Middle East,” Bloomberg reports.
“Democrats, who won solid majorities of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, were already largely opposed to the 44% increase from the previous fiscal year and are now signaling they will block any efforts to push it forward.”
“At the same time, Republican lawmakers returning to the lame-duck session before the new Congress is seated in January may not be able to muster the support or political will to ram through the massive defense spending package, especially amid the Pentagon’s unpopular war against Iran that cost many of them their jobs.”
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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