The Chips Fall on Trump  —  tIt's taken a while, but certain facts about last week's election seem to be slowly penetrating the president's brain.  Yesterday, in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump started a standard everybody-loves-me brag: “I think my level of popularity …

Behind the Curtain: Democrats' social media trap  —  Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are both cautious, calm, compromise-minded leaders fantasizing about a serious, sensible Democratic-run Congress.  — But social media is a temptress no party leader has tamed.

Once Trump's presumed heir, Vance is reconsidering his political future  —  JD Vance Donald Trump US elections The Middle East  —  Vice President JD Vance has given serious consideration to not running for president in 2028 after last week's calamitous midterm elections, people close to him tell CNN.

Congress' Top Doctor Resigns Amid a Misconduct Probe  —  Neither the Navy nor Rear Adm. Brian Monahan has publicly announced the departure.  — Copy  —  Rear Adm. Brian Monahan, the attending physician to Supreme Court justices and congressional members, has resigned amid a Pentagon probe …

House Republicans push for new rules targeting maverick holdouts  —  House Republicans are discussing whether to discipline members who vote against key GOP procedural motions or otherwise seek to undermine party leaders, according to six people granted anonymity to describe the behind-the-scenes effort.

The Worst Thing Democrats Could Do Right Now  —  These are not normal times, and that was not a normal midterm election.  For two years, President Trump has ruled the United States like a personal fief while his would-be subjects have endured war, rising prices and political chaos.

Doctor Behind Mass Shooting in D.C., Police Say  — Emergency physician accused of shooting multiple people — one fatally — before killing himself  —  Emergency physician Matt Lambert, MD, was named by NBC News as the gunman in Thursday's mass shooting in Washington, D.C., citing law enforcement officials.

Peltola extends lead after new Alaska Senate ballots count  —  In the last uncalled Senate race of 2026, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) gained an additional 5,000 newly counted votes Thursday and extended her lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).  —  Peltola leads Sullivan by 5,800 votes …

Russia strikes hospital in central Kyiv after SpaceX system falters again  —  Volodymyr Zelenskyy says speed restrictions on Starshield system made it harder for Ukraine to shoot down drones  —  Russia has attacked a hospital in the centre of Kyiv, close to several western embassies …

Jack Smith calls Senate Republican's bar complaint against him a ‘political stunt’  —  Jack Smith, the former special counsel who prosecuted President Donald Trump, is calling a GOP senator's bid to seek his disbarment a “retaliatory political stunt” that misstates the scope of Congress' immunity …

Scoop: Israeli spy chief in D.C. as Netanyahu presses Trump to resume war  —  The director of the Israeli spy agency Mossad is in Washington Friday for talks with senior Trump administration officials about the war in Iran, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

The Shamelessness of Marco Rubio  —  The secretary of state has spent more than $1.2 million in taxpayer funds on personal flights—including taking military jets to football games.  —  Next to all of the take-Americans-for-nitwits scams perpetrated by the Trump administration …

Raskin makes formal ask for colleagues to support him as Judiciary Chair  —  Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is officially asking his colleagues to support his bid to lead the panel in the majority as chair.  Raskin, in the letter obtained by POLITICO …

The Filibuster Runs Deep.  Very Deep.  —  I went back and forth with a number of people yesterday about the filibuster and the leadership contest in the Senate Democratic caucus yesterday.  You want Van Hollen because among other reasons, some contended, he gets you closer to getting rid of the filibuster.

Alito warns Congress can ‘turn off the lights’ at Supreme Court  —  Justice Samuel Alito, speaking to the Federalist Society on Thursday, warned against any potential congressional action to defund the Supreme Court as he defended the importance of an independent judiciary.

‘Hell, I was living it’: Joe Biden airs his frustration with Democratic critics in new memoir  —  Responding almost point by point to his many critics over the last two-and-a-half years, Joe Biden devotes a full chapter of his new memoir to rebutting questions about his mental acuity …

The Swingiest State Has Gone Very Red  —  Democrats around the country are now asking the question weird-crime aficionados and real estate analysts have been asking for years: What is happening in Florida?  —  The anti-Trump stampede that trampled Republicans in blood-red bastions like Kansas …

In conversation with Tim Snyder  —  “It's important to think not about what he's going to do to us, but what we're going to do to him.”  —  ∙ Paid … Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tim Snyder in Minneapolis for a wide-ranging conversation about Trumpism …