Trump defends Jensen Huang and Pete Hegseth at surprise news briefing with Dana White  —  The president said he would stand by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if he's impeached. … In his first post-midterm news briefing, President Donald Trump on Monday talked about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair …

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

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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” …

Machinists union calls on Schumer to step aside as leader  —  A major labor union is telling Sen. Chuck Schumer it's time to go.  The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers sent the New York lawmaker a letter Monday urging him “not to seek another term” …

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 …

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.

Pete Hegseth Lashes Out  —  The defense secretary wants military educators to pursue politics, not war.  —  Pete Hegseth was in my neighborhood today.  I live just up the road from the Naval War College, where I taught for 25 years, and where Hegseth gave a speech this morning about the future of military education.

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 …

Court filing alleges Trump adviser received cash, luxury gifts from foreign interests  —  A former business partner is accusing MAGA media guru Alex Bruesewitz of receiving lavish gifts from foreign individuals in Qatar and Syria while also pursuing lucrative deals with other entities looking …

Supreme Court paves way for Trump to build a section of his border wall in the Big Bend area of Texas  —  The Trump administration has faced opposition to its plan to build border security infrastructure in a remote part of Texas that includes Big Bend National Park.

John Fetterman Gets His First 2028 Challenger  —  Ahmed Moor, a writer born in the war-torn Gaza Strip, said he wants to “chart a new path for America.”  — Copy  —  Ahmed Moor, a Palestinian American writer who grew up in Philadelphia, launched a campaign for U.S. Senate on Monday …

The End of Stephen Miller's Recusals  —  Stephen Miller spent his first weekend as White House chief of staff on the patio at Mar-a-Lago, huddling with President Trump and Natalie Harp, his executive assistant, about how to approach the next two years with the House and Senate under Democratic control.

An Electoral Mess in Mississippi  —  Last summer, Mississippi began an effort to “continue to build on the accuracy of Mississippi's voter rolls and strengthen the integrity of elections,” as Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson put it.  Using data from the credit-reporting agency Experian …

France summons Iran envoy over supermarket fridge hack, warns of response  —  France summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday after accusing Tehran of a cyberattack that disabled refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warning Paris could respond with cyber measures of its own.

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 …