Alternet - Three of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices could be forced off the bench all at once under a plan suddenly back in play now that Democrats have seized Congress.
One of the proposals for a constitutional amendment put forward by Maryland Democratic Rep. Johnny Olszewski would require sitting justices who have been on the court for more than 18 years to retire. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Clarence Thomas have all been on the court for over 18 years.
According to CBS, Democrats are expected to have at least 54 seats in the Senate and at least 250 in the House, giving them the opportunity to take up any legislation which would have been completely out of the question in the GOP-led Congress.
Center for American Progress - There are 10 statewide offices in the state of Georgia. Eight of them—eight!—were won by Black Democratic women. In addition to the governor’s office, which will be held by Keisha Lance Bottoms, the offices include attorney general, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, and more. The other two statewide offices were won by white men—and they’re Democrats, too.
Action Network - there are two still outstanding Senate races where no winner has been called, Alaska and Mississippi. In both cases, Democratic chances look pretty good, but legal wrangling could drag on for weeks. There may even be an attempt by Donald Trump and Republicans to either not certify, or not seat, Democrat Mary Peltola in Alaska should she emerge as the eventual winner.
NBC News - Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has won Georgia’s race for governor, NBC News projects, defeating Republican Rick Jackson and flipping control of the battleground state office for the first time in 24 years.
Bottoms, the former mayor of
Atlanta and a former Biden administration official, overcame an enormous
spending disadvantage against Jackson, a wealthy healthcare executive who
pumped more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign.
Bottoms is the first woman and
the first Black person to be elected governor of Georgia. She is also the first
Black female governor in the country’s history.
Like many Democrats across the
country, Bottoms leaned heavily into a message focusing on affordability and
economic issues. Down the late fall stretch, she also ran ads that hit Jackson
over previous comments supporting the construction of data centers and linked
him to President Donald Trump, who faced low approval ratings in the state.
Equality PAC -
Chris Pappas just defeated Trump’s handpicked MAGA Republican to keep New Hampshire’s
Senate seat blue. This January, Chris will be sworn in as the fIrst openly
gay man to win election to the U.S. Senate.
MS NOW - As Democrats swept control of Congress on election night, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, had a warning: “Lawyer up.” Some of America’s biggest companies already have. After two years spent courting President Donald Trump, they are bracing for Garcia, who is in line to chair the committee, and the other Democrats who will wield subpoena power come January. Some that expect to land near the top of the target lists have quietly opened back channels to the party, according to lawyers and congressional investigators familiar with the matter — a hedge against the reckoning Democrats have spent the year previewing.
Center for American Progress - In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom’s
lead is up to 1,138 votes from the 43 of election night. The
New York Times reports that "nearly all the votes have been
counted in the race," but results won’t be known until next Tuesday at
the earliest. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola leads by 637 votes. Determining a winner there will
take longer—the deadline for tabulating ballots is November 18,
and that’s also when ranked-choice tabulation begins....
They were saying on Morning Joe this
morning that Democrats are on pace for 254 House seats.
That would be a 40-seat pickup. NBC News estimates that it’s going to be 259. Potentially,
that’s a durable majority that can last a decade or more. On the other hand, a
little perspective: After the 2008 elections, Democrats controlled 256 House seats. That majority was wiped out four
years later.
The
Guardian - Amid a surge in early onset cancer, the Trump administration
has taken more than 500 actions to systematically dismantle protections against
carcinogens once in place across the federal government, an October report
alleges.
The Natural Resources Defense
Council report, and comments from current and former officials from the
Environmental Protection Agency, bring into focus how myriad changes in federal
rules or protocol will dramatically increase the public’s exposure to carcinogens.
These are taking effect at a time when some forms of early onset cancer are
spiking by about 30% per decade.
Alternet
- Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the Ranking Member on the House Homeland
Security Committee, sent a letter to Markwayne Mullin, Trump's Homeland
Security secretary, instructing him to preserve documents.
"I demand the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
comply with all document preservation requirements, in accordance with
applicable Federal laws, and respond to all outstanding requests from the
Committee," Thompson said. He also said that he wants confirmation
"in writing" that records and data are being preserved by Nov. 11.
Thompson made it clear that the previously ignored requests
by the Department of Homeland Security are about to come back to haunt Mullin. "The
Department’s repeated refusal to cooperate with the Committee’s oversight
requests — which are essential to effectuating the separation of powers
established by the U.S. Thompson wrote.
"In the 120th Congress, the Committee intends to
address the Trump administration’s assault on the rule of law and hold those
responsible accountable. I therefore renew all requests made during the 119th
Congress and expect all requested information and documents to be produced
without further delay, and in no case later than December 2, 2026," the
letter ends.
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has won re-election against Republican Rep. Mike Collins, NBC News projects, prevailing in Georgia after a nationally watched race that was defined, at times, by heated personal attacks.
Presidential
Hill - Amid warning shots from
the courts and a hostile Congress, President Trump is readying lawful executive
actions to keep his agenda moving on borders, costs, and national strength.
White House lawyers mapped actions on immigration, tariffs, housing, and spending to bypass gridlock. Recent Supreme Court rulings shifted power toward the presidency while sketching limits.
Democrats vow courtroom fights, claiming agency overhauls need Congress.Targeted steps could lower housing and energy costs and tighten the border if crafted within statutes
NY Times - Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, was elected governor of Georgia, The Associated Press said, as a state shaped by the legacies of slavery, segregation and the fight for civil rights became the first to choose a Black woman as its chief executive.
Ms. Bottoms, 56, also became the first Democrat elected governor in Georgia in more than 25 years. Her victory against Rick Jackson, the Republican in the race and a billionaire entrepreneur, affirms Georgia's transformation over the past decade from reliably Republican to a swing state.
From the start of the race, Ms. Bottoms positioned herself as an unrelenting foil to President Trump in a state that he had won two years ago but where he had considerable baggage. Those include a criminal indictment stemming from his schemes to overturn his defeat in 2020 and a long list of statewide candidates who had his blessing but were rejected by voters.
Like Democrats elsewhere, she sought to harness the frustrations of voters who blamed Mr. Trump for inflation, rising fuel prices, challenges accessing affordable health care and an unpopular war with Iran.
The most important story of the 2026 midterms is that we held an election. The election unfolded peacefully and in an orderly manner. As the Constitution prescribes, state and local officials managed the elections with professionalism and dedication. There was no national emergency; no martial law; no troops at the polls; and no seizure of ballots. Americans exercised their right to vote. That alone is enough. It is an unqualified victory for democracy and a cause for unbridled celebration.
The NY Times figured which groups voted more Democratic than in 2024. Here are some of the major switches:
Washington Post - In the closing days of the midterm elections, Elon Musk, the largest individual political donor in modern American history, lobbed increasingly alarmist barbs about Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico.
Musk, a Texas resident, said the
Democrat sought to “open the borders” and “abolish democracy.” Talarico, he
said, “will vote to trans your kids.”
But Texas voters on Tuesday
resoundingly rejected that messaging, electing to send Talarico to the U.S.
Senate.
“We just proved that all the
money in the world is no match for the people of Texas,” Talarico declared in a
victory speech, singling out Musk. “We just sent a message to every billionaire
megadonor — every trillionaire megadonor.”
NBC
News - Democrats clinched a majority
of governorships for the first time in 16 years in Tuesday’s elections, further
punctuating the party’s success across the map.
Seizing on a broadly toxic political climate for Republicans, Democrats flipped control of five governor’s mansions in states President Donald Trump carried in 2024, while maintaining power in several other battleground states. Democratic candidates wrested control of governor’s mansions in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Ohio and Nevada.
Washington
Post - Vice President JD Vance didn’t mince words on
Wednesday about why his party suffered a stunning defeat at the ballot box: It
was the war that President Donald Trump launched.
Vance, a potential 2028
presidential contender, broke sharply with Trump in owning the failures of the
administration’s policies.
While Trump and his top White
House advisers blamed Republican candidates and tried to wash their hands of
any responsibility for the GOP’s massive losses, Vance pinned the blame on the
Trump administration’s decisions.
“The reason we lost is the war,”
Vance wrote in a lengthy post on social media, noting that Trump himself
admitted Iran was a part of the reason voters rejected Republicans — though
Trump on Tuesday insisted the war was the correct decision and that he would do
it again.
Vance’s response signaled an
awareness of the deep distrust from some of the voters who put him and Trump in
office — and whose support he will need should he choose to run for president.
The Nation - On Tuesday night, Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Senate—delivering the most direct and profound of the many rebukes that Republican President Donald Trump suffered as the American people thunderously transformed the country’s electoral and political landscape.
Yes, voters handed Democrats control of both chambers of
Congress, creating a vital check on Trump’s presidency that substantially
disempowers him in the last two years of his second term.
Yes, Republicans experienced substantial setbacks in states
such as Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas, where Trump won with
ease just two years ago—confirming the American public’s fundamental break with
a historically unpopular, and now unmistakably lame-duck, president.
The
Nation - On Tuesday night, Michigan
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim ever elected to the United
States Senate—delivering the most direct and profound of the many rebukes that
Republican President Donald Trump suffered as the American people thunderously
transformed the country’s electoral and political landscape.
Yes, voters handed Democrats control of both chambers of
Congress, creating a vital check on Trump’s presidency that substantially
disempowers him in the last two years of his second term.
Yes, Republicans experienced substantial setbacks in states
such as Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas, where Trump won with
ease just two years ago—confirming the American public’s fundamental break with
a historically unpopular, and now unmistakably lame-duck, president.
Sam Smith - I went to sleep last night around 10
pm because I’ve learned that endless incomplete voting data doesn’t necessarily
make a wise prediction. Turns out I got
a good night’s sleep and a happy breakfast.
Alternet
- On Monday, a shocking new report revealed that half of U.S. armed forces
service members want to quit because of the policies and poor leadership of
President Donald Trump and his officials. Experts warn that the situation has
become a full-blown “readiness crisis” that reduces the country’s military
capabilities.
According to Military.com, a poll
conducted by Common Defense “found that 53 percent of active-duty service
members want to separate from service sooner because they said the military is
becoming more politicized.” The survey revealed that 45 percent of service
members are considering quitting specifically because of policy changes and
uncertainty under the Trump administration, and that “67 percent agree that
decisions affecting service members are being made for political gain, not
mission readiness, compared to 25 percent who disagreed.” These findings come
amid Trump’s ongoing conflict with Iran, and as the president considers
resuming an all-out war following this week’s midterm elections.
The Guardian - In 2024, people in the United States owed at least $220bn in medical debt, according to KFF, a nonprofit health research group. About 14 million owed more than $1,000, and 3 million people owed more than $10,000.
“Costs are very high, and some people have no health insurance, so when they get sick or injured or need healthcare, they have no way to pay the extremely high charges,” said Emma Wager, KFF senior police analyst.
Even people with insurance often have high deductibles or high cost-sharing provisions in their plans, which means they could still find the bills unaffordable, Wager said.
Patients often fall behind in their payments. In 2024, 21% of US households had a past-due medical bill, according to the journal Health Affairs Scholar. In 2021, more than half of the bills sent to collectors were for medical care, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Washington
Post - When Sen. Chris Murphy, 53,
was hospitalized
after a stroke Saturday, he became a high-profile example of what may
be a troubling trend: Strokes seem to be more common in younger adults than
they were in the past.
Over almost three decades, a team of researchers has been
tracking cases in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. This area is not
random — it’s demographically similar to the United States overall in terms of
age, race, education and income, said Emily Fisher, a neurologist at the
University of Cincinnati and one of the researchers. “That allows us, if we see
a signal in our region, to say, ‘Hey, does this need to be looked at on a
greater scale because it could be reflective of what’s going on in the United
States overall?’”
The results of this effort, published in September in Neurology,
showed that stroke rates among 20- to 54-year-olds in the region almost doubled
from 1993-94 to 2020, while declining among older people. The increase was
largely driven by the ischemic type, caused by a blockage in a blood vessel —
often a clot — supplying the brain.
Still, strokes remain much less common in younger adults.
Their annual rate rose from about 34 to 62 cases per 100,000 people. In the
older group (those 55 and older), it fell from about 619 to 453.
Bloomberg - Walt Disney is said to be preparing thousands
of job cuts, asking some managers to find annual savings of 20%.
Earnings may
be holding up, but the entertainment giant is still grappling with a
shift in consumer attention to social media and online video. Netflix,
Sony and others face
similar pressures and have also cut jobs.
USA Facts - When the House of Representatives flips, it’s usually during midterm elections. Of the 19 House majority shifts since the modern two-party system started, 15 were in midterm years. This includes four of the last five midterms.
Roll
Call - Residents of D.C. observe
election night like some other cities observe major sporting events. And after
the Nationals failed to advance to the postseason this year and with the first
playoff game for the Washington Spirit still a few days away, the midterms will
be the main ticket in town.
“It’s usually standing room only every time. I don’t think
it matters whether it’s presidential or midterms,” said Matt Weiss, who owns
Capitol Hill’s Union Pub.
While the pub will also be showing the Washington Capitals
play the Dallas Stars at 7 p.m., Weiss said the sound will be on for election
results rather than hockey. He expects around 50 percent more business than a
regular Tuesday, which is already a busy night with weekly trivia.
Center for American Voting - It’s finally Election Day, but it’s worth remembering that nearly 58 million people have voted already—that’s compared to 46 million in 2022, and it’s a midterm record.
New Republic- President Donald Trump’s attempt to mess with California’s elections has been shot down by the Supreme Court. In a one-sentence rejection with no explanation, the court ruled on Monday evening against the Trump administration’s emergency request that California separate 20,000 ballots that the White House claims were cast by noncitizens. There do not appear to have been any dissents.
Election officials in California and Los Angeles County said
that the administration’s list was unreliable, pointing to their own findings that many on the list were actually U.S.-born
citizens. The Trump administration even admitted that the list contained inaccuracies but
still insisted that California comply with its demands. Late last month, the
DOJ sued to force California to separate those 20,000 ballots. Last week, U.S.
District Judge David Carter issued a blistering ruling castigating the White House for
acting like a monarchy.
District
Line Daily - The FBI has “directed all employees stationed in D.C. to
avoid polling locations,” according to the Washington Sun. “Agent
personnel were advised that the only exception to that prohibition is if there
is an active shooter at a particular polling location,” per the FBI’s
statement. But across the country, the Department of Justice plans to send
about 1,000 election monitors to polls, which Axios says is
“far more than in previous elections.” Expect monitors in Prince George’s
County and Fairfax County. [Washington Sun, Axios]
The Congressional Insider - America’s main retirement fund faces a hard date: the Social Security old-age fund is projected to run short in late 2032, triggering across-the-board cuts if Congress does nothing.
NY Times - Even Mr. Trump seems astonished at times by what comes out of his mouth — and by how much his supporters embrace him nonetheless. “I could say the stupidest things and you’d clap. ‘Oh, I love you so,’” he marveled at a recent rally in Clarksville, Tenn. “But we don’t say the stupidest things,” he quickly added. “We say things of common sense. We say things that make sense.”
For Mr. Trump, making sense often
places second to having fun at rallies, and some outrageous remarks appear
aimed at generating a laugh. His allies say too much is made of comments that
are really just jokes. He has always been a provocative speaker, willing to
outrage for the sake of outrage. Mr. Trump defends his stream-of-consciousness
rambling as a “brilliant” speaking style that he calls “the
weave.”
But the weave seems to be getting
weavier. An A.I.-assisted New York Times review of Mr. Trump’s comments from
speeches, rallies, social media, interviews and public meetings found
significant changes since he began a run for president at age 69 in 2015,
although not as much of a notable shift since 2024 when a
similar review was conducted. Broadly speaking, the review concluded, Mr.
Trump’s public communication is more vulgar, more uninhibited and less coherent
than it was a decade ago.
The
Hill - President Trump said on
Tuesday that he has reached a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu that will end U.S. aid to Israel this year. Trump said in an interview with “Fox &
Friends” that he and Netanyahu made a deal “months ago” for Washington to end
its aid to Israel.
Alternet
America - The Trump administration is preparing to reverse
workplace accommodations for women, according to seven people familiar with
the plans. The changes would narrow protections under the Pregnant Workers
Fairness Act, a 2022 law that guarantees accommodations like bathroom breaks
and time off for prenatal appointments.
…. The administration is also
considering religious exemptions that would allow employers to deny
accommodations that conflict with their beliefs. A federal court in Louisiana
has already ruled for Catholic organizations that didn’t want to accommodate
workers seeking abortions, and the proposed changes would make it easier for
other employers to follow suit.
The rollback would have the
biggest impact in the 23 states where abortion is now banned or restricted. In
those states, women often have to travel across state lines for the procedure,
and current regulations require their employers to give them the time off.
New Republic - In addition to being a megadonor, Musk is a mega federal contractor, largely through his aerospace company, SpaceX. According to a new report by Democracy Defenders Action, a nonprofit legal group co-founded by Norm Eisen (co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment), Musk has “won at least $10 billion in contracts since he left the government.” That was a mere 17 months ago, amid a heavily publicized feud with the president. That $10 billion is actually in addition to the $38 billion that Musk suckled from the federal teat before 2025, and it doesn’t count the $6.3 billion that Musk extracted while he was running Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE was supposed to cut government spending, but instead it ran up a bill of $517 billion, not counting the $6.3 billion in federal contracts Musk pocketed at the same time, nor the $10 billion Musk pocketed later.
Time - President Donald Trump invited outgoing congresswoman Haley Stevens to join the Republican Party after she surprisingly endorsed her state’s GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate, Mike Rogers, over her partymate, Abdul El-Sayed, in a last-minute move her fellow Democrats have called a “betrayal.”
· A
number of Democrats have shared their dismay and disappointment, including
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who criticized Stevens’ “despicable
betrayal” and said that Senate Democrats were “united” in their support for
El-Sayed. —Chad de Guzman
The Guardian - The president bashed El-Sayed, a
practicing Muslim, in brazenly racist terms, saying that Congress would have to
“get a special metal detector for Abdul” if he were elected. “If you vote for
this jihadist lunatic that wants to destroy you, you’re crazy. Mike Rodgers is
apple pie. And you know what this country needs? A little apple pie. We don’t
need the communists or jihadists, the Muslim Brotherhood. We need apple pie.”
The Guardian - Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens’ shocking last-minute endorsement of Mike Rogers, a Republican Senate candidate, has sparked fierce backlash from members of her party.
Stevens, who narrowly lost in the Democratic primary for Senate to Abdul El-Sayed, announced her support for Rogers after a feud with the El-Sayed campaign over an outside group’s campaign ad that blamed the high cost of living on US support for Israel. Stevens had said she would appear at a campaign event if he denounced the advertisement. El-Sayed’s campaign disinvited her.
The Guardian - A federal judge threw out Trump’s renewed $10
billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and ruled that it can’t be
filed again, marking another setback for the president’s legal fights with
the press. Trump or his business interests have also filed multimillion dollar
complaints against the NYT
and the British Broadcasting Corp.
