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“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lambasted Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) push to oust him, likening the impeachment effort to Democrats’ successful impeachments of President Trump,” Axios reports.
“As the possible first impeachment of a Cabinet secretary during the second Trump era and a Democratic-led Congress loom, Hegseth isn’t going down without a war of words.”
Bloomberg: Pentagon chief Hegseth slams impeachment push in Congress.
“Sen. Ted Cruz is wasting no time on a campaign to win Texas back for Republicans, announcing a new Austin headquarters for his group Saving Texas,” Axios reports.
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“It’s important to me that I’ve got a governing partner. I’m going to do what I can to make sure that I get one.”
— Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI), quoted by Politico, on the 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls.
“As the Pentagon and Congress crack down on government insiders using prediction markets, two Democratic senators want to know what steps the White House is taking to guard against potential insider trading among President Donald Trump’s staff — particularly after a White House teleprompter operator allegedly made $100,000 on Kalshi by betting on which words the president would use in his speeches,” MS NOW reports.
“Kamala Harris has a decision to make — and the clock is ticking on when those close to her say she should make up her mind,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Advisers and friends in Harris’ orbit have told the former vice president that she should decide by the end of this year whether to make another run at the White House, according to three sources familiar with the conversation, arguing that drawing it out much beyond that would be unfair to the nearly two-dozen candidates expected to run.”
“House Democrats are demanding that the Interior department retain documents related to President Donald Trump’s construction projects around Washington after whistleblowers warned that key paperwork has already been destroyed before Democrats take power,” CNN reports.
“There was a time not too long ago when a federal prosecutor could spend a long career in the courtroom and never once fail to get a grand jury to sign off on an indictment,” the New York Times reports.
“But that time is over, especially in President Trump’s Washington.”
“In the past two weeks alone, prosecutors there have failed to secure indictments in at least three cases — an extraordinary acceleration of the troubles that the Justice Department, and the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington in particular, has had with grand juries for nearly two years.”
“Former president Joe Biden expresses frustration and delivers a rebuke to those who suggested he covered-up and failed to disclose his cancer diagnosis in a timely manner, according to excerpts from his new memoir,” MS NOW reports.
Wrote Biden: “What did surprise me was the cynical twist the story took in the political press and among political commentators. Almost immediately, the reaction was: ‘You hid it from us.’ ‘You must have known it.’ ‘You’re lying.’ Let me tell you something: There isn’t anyone in this world with stage 4 cancer who doesn’t wish it had been caught sooner.”
“I’m sorry that the voters made the wrong choice. I really do believe that the next two years is going to be a bit of a circus. It’s going to be chaos… and that’s a great tragedy.”
— Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), quoted by the New York Post.
“Republicans are still reckoning with a historic midterm wipeout, but the fight to assign blame and inherit President Donald Trump’s political movement is already underway,” CNBC reports.
“Vice President JD Vance faults the war in Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends it. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says Republicans fought the wrong battles. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argues the party lost touch with voters’ economic struggles.”
“The competing visions from potential presidential contenders offer an early glimpse of the Republican infighting ahead of 2028. But all face the same dilemma: How to convince voters the party can change course without alienating Trump or the MAGA base they need to win the nomination.”
“The biggest obstacle may be Trump himself, who has shown little appetite for a political retreat.”
Fox News: Rubio’s defense of Trump’s Iran war draws sharp contrast with Vance’s midterm blame.
“U.S. gasoline dropped below $4 a gallon for the first time since July, offering consumers some relief at the pump, although prices remain significantly elevated on a seasonal basis,” Bloomberg reports.
“It’s as if the midterms never happened,” CNN reports.
“The Trump administration is heading into this week’s impeachment showdown over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth— the first major test of the president’s power after his election debacle — with a clear warning that it plans to use executive authority with even greater force in the new political era.”
“There’s little sense of contrition or acknowledgment that Americans voted to impose restraints on President Donald Trump.”
“President Trump, with the clock ticking and congressional investigators closing in, plans to govern even more imperially, hell-bent on stretching executive power, targeting those on his enemies list, pardoning allies, and daring the courts and Congress to slow him down,” Axios reports.
“Trump and his allies are exploring executive action on new tariffs and immigration restrictions, and asserting greater control over spending. On X over the weekend, Trump discussed targeting and perhaps jailing Democrats who investigate administration officials.”
“Senior Republican lawmakers are considering investigating Nvidia over CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese spy, putting President Donald Trump’s strong defense of the tech titan at odds with mounting scrutiny from members of his own party,” Politico reports.
CNBC: Nvidia’s Trump ties draw scrutiny after reports Huang was targeted by Chinese intelligence.
Washington Post: “For two years, they enjoyed extraordinary access to the president as his administration rolled back regulations, weakened government oversight and embraced artificial intelligence’s rapid expansion. Some right-leaning tech figures, such as Elon Musk and venture capitalist David Sacks, took formal roles in the administration.”
“But as Democrats swept races across the country last week — propelled in part by Americans’ rage over data centers and fears about AI — some tech leaders are now plotting a dramatic shift in strategy.”
The Guardian: Elon Musk and the tech bros banked on Trump and lost. Humbled, humiliated: what will they do next?
“Hakeem Jeffries’ supporters don’t just want him to win — they want him to win big,” Politico reports.
“The massive Democratic House victory last week has transformed what might have otherwise been a fraught effort for the sitting minority leader to secure the speaker’s gavel, where a smaller majority could have empowered a tightknit block of hard-left holdouts. Now a broader group is intent on sending a message.”
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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