• On the Hill: Congress returns this week, marking the start of a lame-duck session. With fewer than 25 days in session before the new — and dramatically reshaped — 120th Congress begins, lawmakers have a long list of agenda items, including averting a potential government shutdown amid a December funding deadline.
• Trump interview: President Donald Trump told “60 Minutes” that his sweeping deportation policy was “too tough” and ultimately “hurt” him. Trump also indicated there may be a deal to be made with Democrats on immigration.
• Trump’s orbit: Stephen Miller, longtime aide to Donald Trump, takes over as White House chief of staff today, signaling the president’s plan to flex greater executive authority. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expects House Democrats to provide strong support for efforts to impeach Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth .
• Election results: Votes are still being counted for the Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska, while 20 House races are yet to be projected.
After this year’s historic blue wave, more women than ever before are set to serve in the next Congress.
The new record — 159 women from both parties — is seven more women than currently serve in the House and Senate, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University and CNN election projections.
And next year’s freshmen are a diverse cohort , including the first female Native American senator, Colorado’s first Black female representative and the first Hispanic representative from Nebraska.
But while the wins will increase women’s representation to 30% when the 120th Congress convenes in January, they’ll still be about 100 seats shy of gender parity. And the gains aren’t across the board — they’re among Democratic women and mostly in the House, where women are breaking a new record. The number of women in the Senate will decrease.
In the House, Democratic women will far surpass the current 95 who are serving. But the number of Republican women in the chamber is falling, as is the case in the Senate.
Women’s representation in Congress is lopsided toward Democrats, even more so after this year’s election results, when at least 115 Democrats are headed to the House compared to 19 Republicans.
Read more about how and why women are shaping Congress.
Chuck Schumer is confident he’ll continue leading Senate Democrats after they captured the chamber’s majority in dramatic fashion on Tuesday . Not all Democrats are so sure.
During a post-election gathering Saturday in Washington, DC, two Senate Democrats — Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan — declined to back Schumer for the job , and Slotkin said she would not rule out running herself. A third Senate Democrat who appeared at the conference, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, said he planned to support Schumer but echoed calls for Senate Democrats “to do things differently than we’ve done before.”
Van Hollen said he has urged Democratic colleagues to “withhold commitments” until Schumer outlines his vision. And Slotkin said Democrats should not give Schumer quorum — the minimum attendance required to conduct Senate business — until he answers their concerns.
Schumer remains a heavy favorite to become majority leader. He has no declared opposition and needs to win only majority support from Senate Democrats, whose ranks are poised to grow to at least 54 seats after Tuesday’s elections.
But Saturday’s comments showed how even Democrats’ sweeping midterm victories could not paper over their long-simmering disagreements about who is best to lead them
President Donald Trump offered his most extensive assessment of historic Republican losses in an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, appearing to extend an invitation to Democrats to work together on immigration.
Trump acknowledged that his administration’s crackdown on immigration was unpopular and, in his view, went too far. Here’s what he said:
In an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes," President Donald Trump was asked if his immigration policy "went too far."
The interview included a revealing back-and-forth over whether Trump could ever forgive his perceived enemies.
In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," President Donald Trump suggested he would go to hell before forgiving his enemies like James Comey or Nancy Pelosi.
Trump again offered a defense of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, whom some Democrats are threatening to impeach.
During an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS , President Donald Trump told Ross Douthat he expects to fire people as a result of Republicans’ sweeping midterm losses, while expressing confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Looking beyond his presidency, Trump said he thinks his Make America Great Again brand of Republican politics can still exist in his absence.
President Donald Trump told CBS' “60 Minutes” that he thinks his Make America Great Again brand can still exist without him as the leader.
Trump also suggested Ukraine may have to cede some of its territory to achieve peace, days before US negotiators are set to lead peace and diplomatic efforts in Abu Dhabi around Russia’s war.
Read more about his interview here.
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie told CNN he plans to trigger a vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s impeachment this week, and several GOP sources said they expect it to pass.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expects House Democrats to provide “incredibly strong” support for Massie’s effort to impeach Hegseth.
Jeffries, who is expected to become House speaker in the next Congress, told ABC’s “This Week” that he’ll be a “hard yes” on Massie’s resolution, which the Kentucky Republican plans to force to the floor for a vote when Congress returns this week.
Hegseth, meanwhile, urged troops to “ignore the noise” in a video posted to social media, insisting the Trump administration is “more resolute than ever to finish what we have started.”
When lawmakers return to Washington today, they’ll have fewer than 25 days in session before the new — dramatically reshaped — 120th Congress begins.
The list of agenda items is long and House Republican leaders are concerned about attendance issues as GOP members confront the reality of their losses.
There is also a risk the December funding deadline could devolve into a showdown as Democrats dig in, knowing their newfound majority is just around the corner. Sources tell CNN, however, that strategies, tactics and plans for how to tackle government funding are still an open question lawmakers will deal with next week.
One GOP aide warned that no one knows right now how the results of the election may impact the weeks ahead, arguing the lame-duck session will be “either long and miserable” or “boring and run its course.”
In the must-pass category is the December 11 funding deadline and a critical defense policy bill (that has passed with bipartisan votes for 65 years). There are also a slew of judges that Senate Republicans plan to prioritize in the weeks ahead.
