memeorandum: ‘This is a serious national security issue.’ GOP bucks Trump on Nvidia (Politico)

9:15 AM ET, November 10, 2026

Top Items:

‘This is a serious national security issue.’ GOP bucks Trump on Nvidia — 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:

The new Democratic powerbrokers — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner — Good Tuesday morning, as we wait to learn who will succeed Mike Johnson and hear Pete Hegseth's impeachment defense. Get in touch. — In today's Playbook ... — Meet the fresh Democratic faces who will wield new influence in '28.

Calen Razor / Politico:
GOP leaders face a post-rout reckoning

Discussion: NBC News, Bloomberg, Associated Press and Fox News

Mia McCarthy / Politico:
House Republicans could be about to clean their own house

Discussion: CBS News, Associated Press, NPR, The Hill, ABC News, MS NOW, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Semafor and Al Jazeera

Politico:
A new set of Democratic power brokers just dropped before 2028

Discussion: WMUR

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

Hegseth to Hold Rare News Conference as Impeachment Vote Looms — The defense secretary has indicated that he will fight accusations that he violated the Constitution and federal law. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to hold a news conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning …

Avery Lotz / Axios:
Hegseth comes out swinging against Massie impeachment push

Discussion: Bloomberg, NewsNation and Washington Post

Raquel Coronell Uribe / NBC News:
Trump defends Jensen Huang and Pete Hegseth at surprise news briefing with Dana White

Reuters: Pentagon chief Hegseth calls moves to impeach him a farce that will fail

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Pete Hegseth decries impeachment push, defends Iran war handling

Discussion: NBC News, CBS News, Al Jazeera, The Daily Wire, The Independent and France 24

Politico:
The House may impeach Hegseth — but Mike Johnson could force it into the next Congress

The Washington Sun:

Haley Stevens Was in the Republican Cloakroom for Congress' First Votes Back Since the Election — Reporters didn't see the Michigan Democrat on the first day back in session since the midterms, but the House clerk recorded two “yea” votes from her. — Copy

Politico:
Haley Stevens' Washington office is deserted

Discussion: Mediaite

Vox:

The biggest blue wave in 50 years, explained in 7 charts — It's going to take some time to fully comprehend what just happened in the midterm elections. — Last Tuesday brought a blue wave of historic proportions, with Democrats winning large majorities in both the House of Representatives …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Andrew Solender / Axios:

House Dems size up 2028 Senate map after midterm landslide — Current and former House Democrats, flush with victory following their landslide midterm wins, are already looking at potential opportunities to run for Senate in 2028, Axios has learned. … - A source close to Rep. Sharice Davids …

Greg Rosalsky / NPR:

Why did California's billionaire tax fail to surf the blue wave? — Late Monday, The Associated Press determined that California voters had rejected Prop 40, the proposed billionaire wealth tax I wrote about last week. Given the big blue wave we saw during the midterms, why did this tax on billionaires fail to surf to victory?

Discussion: Mother Jones, CalMatters and HuffPost

Associated Press:

California voters reject measure to tax the wealth of billionaires — California voters have rejected a first-in-the-nation tax on the net worth of billionaires following a contentious ballot fight that generated huge spending by some prominent tech leaders eager to stop their taxes from going up.

Marcia Brown / Politico:

USDA policy shift would cut millions of people off food aid program — The Agriculture Department is set to tighten eligibility requirements for the nation's largest anti-hunger initiative in a change that is expected to render millions of additional Americans ineligible for the program.

Discussion: The Independent

Tyler Spence / The Washington Sun:
USDA Is Proposing a Rule That Would Kick Millions Off SNAP

Discussion: NewsMax.com

The Washington Sun:
Government Watchdog Questions Justification for USDA's Relocation Order

Discussion: GovExec.com, Federal News Network and Reuters

Matthew Chapman / Raw Story:

Trump-pardoned activist crashes cat owners' convention in mistaken hunt for furries — Matthew Chapman — Pardoned January 6 Capitol rioter Jake Lang found himself humiliated in the second stunt of the weekend, when he crashed a convention in Seattle he thought was a gathering of “furries” …

Axios:

How a MAHA leader turned and torched the White House — Calley Means quickly rose from wellness entrepreneur to senior Trump health adviser — and now he's attacking the White House and suggesting top aides undermined the president's health agenda. … - It also raises questions …

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Aircraft Evacuated From Second U.K. Base Due to Iran Threat — U.S. refueling tankers were moved from RAF Mildenhall on Monday — The U.S. evacuated American aircraft from a Royal Air Force base in England on Monday in the wake of a threat from Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, New York Post, Politico, Breitbart, CBS News, Stars & Stripes, Middle East Monitor, KIFI-TV, Associated Press, Reuters, HuffPost and News Talk 105.9 WMAL-FM

Chris Marquette / Politico:

Gooden likely misused taxpayer dollars, spent extravagantly on travel, congressional watchdog says — Congressional investigators found “substantial reason to believe” Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden used taxpayer dollars for personal luxury travel and may have misreported his campaign spending.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Washington Post and Breitbart

Jenna Monnin / The Washington Sun: Congressional Probe Finds Rep. Gooden May Have Misused Taxpayer Money

Will Sommer / The Bulwark:

Neo-Nazi Leader Accidentally Livestreams Masturbation Session — He thought he'd stopped broadcasting when he finished playing WoW. But the real show had only just begun. — AS AMERICANS SETTLED IN to watch the midterm results last Tuesday, neo-Nazi internet personality Christopher Pohlhaus had different plans: World of Warcraft.

Associated Press:

Senate weighs sweeping energy legislation in first major action since midterm elections — The Senate on Monday is set to take up bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up permitting reviews for data centers and other infrastructure projects, in the first major action since last week's election …

Discussion: Politico, American Greatness, Spokesman.com, Washington Post, Axios, Deseret News, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, The Hill, The Daily Caller, One America News Network, New York Times, The Independent, News Talk 105.9 WMAL-FM and Mother Jones

Mara Hoplamazian / The Washington Sun:
Senators Advance Bipartisan Permitting Reform. Democrats Were Divided.

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, Greenline Insights, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and The Daily Wire

CNN:

GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert will lose reelection to Democrat Eileen Laubacher in Colorado, CNN projects — House election US elections Donald Trump Congressional news — Retired Rear Adm. Eileen Laubacher, a Democrat, will flip Colorado's 4th District, CNN's Decision Desk projects …

Discussion: The Hill, MeidasTouch, Denver Post, TMZ.com, The Independent, Denver Gazette, Newsweek, Colorado Times Recorder, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, Advocate, LGBTQ Nation, New Republic, Democracy Docket, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Rich Lowry / New York Post:

The ghost of VPs past haunts JD Vance — and puts his political future at risk — JD Vance may have many ambitions, but being the next Hubert Humphrey probably isn't one of them. — During his 1968 presidential campaign, the Democratic vice president couldn't escape the shadow …

Discussion: Breitbart, The American Conservative, HotAir, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill

Luke Fountain / CNBC:
Trump's 2028 successors are already fighting over who to blame for GOP midterm wipeout

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, The Hill and CBS News

Paul Waldman / Public Notice:

MAGA's other big lie — Public Notice is proudly celebrating 5 years of independent journalism. Support our work by becoming a paid subscriber ⬇️ — 📊 Subscribe to PN 📊 — In the stunning rebuke voters delivered to Donald Trump and his party in the midterm elections …

Jeff Stein / The Washington Sun:

Trump's Crypto Products Crash to All-Time Lows After the Midterms — The declines mean great losses for investors and Trump supporters who have bought into the president's crypto brand. — Copy — To get into an exclusive dinner with President Donald Trump later this month …

Axios:

Behind the Curtain: Trump's imperial last act … - Restore MAGA. … - Rule by pen. … - Target enemies. … - Purge the “deep state.” … - More monuments. … - Soften aspects of immigration enforcement, particularly regarding masked agents harassing U.S. citizens.

Discussion: Associated Press

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

Pressure builds on Thune ahead of GOP leadership elections … But the growing push to delay is a sign of troubles ahead. … - Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) backed them up in statements posted on X. — Johnson threatened to skip the vote if the delay doesn't happen.

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, Semafor, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, The Daily Caller, RedState, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Roll Call, Townhall, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Deseret News and The Federalist

New York Times:

In Trump's Washington, Prosecutors Can't Count on Grand Juries to Take Their Side — In the past two weeks, prosecutors in the capital have failed to secure indictments in at least three cases, an acceleration of the problems the Justice Department has had with grand juries.

Chris Bradford / New York Post:

Mike Johnson slams voters for making ‘wrong choice,’ predicts ‘circus’ after GOP's midterm drubbing — Lame-duck House Speaker Mike Johnson blasted voters for making the “wrong choice” in this month's midterms — while also predicting a circus will run wild on Capitol Hill during President Trump's final two years in office.

Discussion: Daily Mail and The Independent

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

Scoop: Cruz launching GOP HQ for taking back Texas — 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. — Why it matters: The midterms left Texas as ground zero for the GOP.

Riley Rogerson / Politico:

Some Democrats want more than a Hakeem Jeffries victory. They want a blowout. — Hakeem Jeffries' supporters don't just want him to win — they want him to win big. … Now a broader group is intent on sending a message. — “The people want to see unity,” Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana said in an interview.

Perry Bacon / New Republic:

The Much Maligned “Groups” Are the Reason Democrats Won the Midterms — After Kamala Harris lost two years ago, some Democratic-leaning commentators came up with a boogeyman: “the groups.” Left-leaning organizations had forced Harris and other Democratic politicians to adopt progressive stances …

Jasmine Wright / The Washington Sun:

The Clock Is Ticking for Kamala Harris — Advisers told her to make a call on a presidential run before 2026 ends, but at least one former adviser says they weren't sure they “want her to run again.” — Copy — Kamala Harris has a decision to make — and the clock is ticking …

Brandy Jensen / Defector:

The Free Press Deletes Video In Which Reporter Is Scared Of The Word “Habibi” — Olivia Reingold might be the most notably embarrassing employee at the Free Press, but her coworkers won't let her take that title without a fight. Last Wednesday, following the midterm elections …