Newsom solicits cash as Biden’s former election lawyer mobilizes legal team for Mississippi Senate race
Democratic heavyweights Gavin Newsom and Marc Elias are mobilizing behind Scott Colom as the Mississippi Senate race remains too close to call, with the California governor soliciting emergency donations and Elias’ law firm preparing for a legal fight over the final count. In an overnight fundraising email obtained by Fox News Digital, Newsom’s campaign told supporters, “Please help asap,” warning that the race was entering “a phase of ballot curing and possible legal fights.” Elias said his firm is “leading the legal effort to ensure” Colom wins. “As you read this, Scott leads the Republican incumbent by just a couple hundred votes,” the email said. “There is no way Republicans are giving up this Senate seat without a fight. The job is not finished!” DEMS SEIZE THE SENATE AS BLUE TIDAL WAVE CRASHES DEEP INTO TRUMP COUNTRY, TOPPLES GOP STRONGHOLDS The Mississippi Senate race between Colom and incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., remained uncalled Wednesday because thousands of ballots had yet to be processed. Colom led Hyde-Smith by just 43 votes in incomplete, unofficial results, while an estimated 44,000 ballots remained outstanding, including absentee, affidavit and provisional ballots. “Scott Colom is going to be the next Senator from Mississippi. I am proud that Elias Law Group is leading the legal effort to ensure that happens,” Elias wrote on his Bluesky account. SCHUMER, DEMS ARE QUIETLY BETTING BIG ON ONE SLEEPER RACE IN THE DEEP SOUTH Elias is a longtime Democratic election lawyer who served as general counsel to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and led a Perkins Coie legal team representing Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. He later founded Elias Law Group, which has represented Democratic campaign committees and candidates in high-profile election disputes. Fox News Digital reached out to Elias for additional details about his planned involvement in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race but did not receive a response in time for publication. Mississippi law allows absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive within five business days — through Nov. 10 — and permits voters to cure certain ballot problems during that period. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The Mississippi Democratic Party has also filed a court challenge alleging delayed polling-place openings, long lines and ballot shortages in DeSoto County.
Top union boss drops 2028 warning on Democrats amid blue wave celebration: ‘Wake-up call’
DETROIT — As results poured in from across the country Tuesday night and a blue wave began to form, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain told Fox News Digital that Democrats’ sweeping midterm victories were no guarantee that working people would stick with the party in 2028. “It makes me confident that the working class will back whoever supports them, who they see getting behind their issues. I say this all the time, look, we’re not Republicans, we are not Democrats, we aren’t independents. We support people that back us,” Fain said, speaking to Fox News Digital at the Michigan Democratic Party’s election night watch party. “I just believe, you know, it’s a wake-up call to everyone that they better get behind workers and start supporting people because they’re tired of seeing, you know, $10 billion, $20 billion buyback deals for corporate leaders and for Wall Street while the people that create those profits can’t afford to live,” he continued. FOX NEWS POLL: MICHIGAN VOTERS SPLIT BETWEEN EL-SAYED AND ROGERS Democratic Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed‘s victory in Michigan stood in contrast to the GOP’s performance in the state during the 2024 general election, when President Donald Trump won voters without college degrees by approximately 10 percentage points, according to exit polling. A pillar of the political realignment of the Trump era has been the defection of working-class Americans, particularly the White working class, to the GOP. In 2024, the Teamsters made national headlines by declining to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris amid polls suggesting that rank-and-file union members would break for Trump. UNION BOSS STUNS WITH MAJOR REPUBLICAN ENDORSEMENT AS ELECTION NEARS These shifts have been particularly pronounced in Rust Belt states such as Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin — all three of which saw significant Republican defeats on election night, including major Democratic victories in Senate, gubernatorial and legislative races. Fain argued that Democrats’ focus on kitchen-table issues facing working people helped propel them to commanding victories in Michigan and across the country. FOX NEWS VOTER POLL: HOW DEMOCRATS TOOK CONTROL OF THE SENATE “I think it’s just a testament to Michigan here as a microcosm of what’s going on in this country right now. Working-class people have been left behind… these are some of the best times in the history of our nation… corporations are doing well, the rich are taking all the profits… and people are struggling to be able to afford to pay the bills,” he told Fox News Digital. “People come in, outside groups come in, they try to buy seats in Congress, they try to buy our electorate, and I think working-class people woke up to that and they’re fed up with this.” For Fain, the focus on healthcare, living wages and retirement assistance helps explain the Democratic Party’s sweeping victories on Tuesday night. “Whatever party gets behind those things and supports those initiatives to take care of people, they’ll be in power for a long time,” said Fain.
Dem newcomer heads to Washington despite past ties to al Qaeda-linked group
Democratic congressman-elect Adam Hamawy is headed to Capitol Hill after cruising through the New Jersey election amid renewed scrutiny of his past ties to a charity later designated by the U.S. as a terrorist financier. Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and former U.S. Army medical officer, secured approximately 70% of the vote in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, despite facing questions on the campaign trail about his reported previous volunteer work with the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF), a Chicago-based charity that federal authorities later identified as providing financial and logistical support to al Qaeda. According to a 1996 interview with the Newark Star-Ledger uncovered by Jewish Insider, Hamawy spent five weeks in Bosnia in 1994 volunteering with the organization, delivering medical supplies to hospitals in Sarajevo and Zenica. FIREFIGHTER BROTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM INCENSED BY ‘RADICAL’ MUSLIMS WINNING KEY DEM PRIMARIES “I worked in Sarajevo for 10 days and then the rest in Zenica, a large regional center in central Bosnia,” Hamawy told the newspaper at the time. “We went out to hospitals around the area and in the mountains to check what supplies they needed, and we tried to deliver them.” In 2002, Bosnian authorities raided the charity’s offices in those cities, recovering documents that federal investigators linked to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, including correspondence, financial records and information about terrorist training camps. GOP SENATOR IN BRUTAL PRIMARY PRAISED ISLAMIC CHARITY AFTER FEDS CUT TERROR-SCRUTINIZED PARENT, REVIEW FINDS The 9/11 Commission later identified the charity’s Sarajevo office as part of a network that covertly provided financial and logistical support for terrorist activities. The organization’s chief executive, Enaam Arnaout, pleaded guilty in 2003 to a racketeering charge involving funds raised for purported humanitarian purposes and diverted to the Bosnian military. Federal prosecutors ultimately dropped terrorism charges against him. JUDGE THROWS OUT KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED’S 9/11 CONFESSION IN ALREADY LONG WAIT FOR TRIAL The BIF remains on the U.S. Treasury Department’s terrorism-related sanctions list. Hamawy’s past relationship with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, commonly known as the “Blind Sheikh,” also drew scrutiny during his congressional campaign. CLINTON, BUSH RECEIVED MULTIPLE WARNINGS ON BIN LADEN HIJACK PLOTS BEFORE 9/11, DECLASSIFIED FILES SHOW Abdel-Rahman was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks in New York City. Court records show that Hamawy accompanied the cleric on a trip to Detroit in 1991, served as his translator during a press conference and testified on his behalf during his federal criminal trial. Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York who helped secure Abdel-Rahman’s conviction, told Fox News Digital that Hamawy’s testimony ultimately strengthened the government’s case against the terrorist leader. “As was uniformly the case with witnesses presented in the extensive defense case, his testimony, once cross-examination was over, did more to bolster the prosecution’s proof of a jihadist terrorism conspiracy against the United States than to help the accused,” McCarthy said. Hamawy’s campaign has pushed back against scrutiny of his past association with Abdel-Rahman, accusing Republican-aligned organizations and media outlets of attempting to undermine his candidacy. MEET THE FAR-LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT IN 2026 MIDTERMS “It’s unsurprising that the RNC and Republican billionaire-backed outlets are trying to cast Dr. Adam Hamawy in a negative light: he’s Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,” Hamawy’s campaign told Fox News Digital in May when asked about his relationship with Abdel-Rahman and related reporting. The reporting has not established that Hamawy personally participated in terrorist activities or knowingly supported al Qaeda through his humanitarian work in Bosnia. Hamawy did not respond to Fox News Digital’s latest request for comment.
Majority of Americans broadly reject socialist ideology even as far left surges to power
Most Americans have a negative view of socialism, according to the Fox News Voter Poll, even as left-wing candidates across the country notched resounding victories on Election Day. Of the 100,000 registered voters surveyed, 54% viewed socialism unfavorably, while roughly a third viewed the ideology favorably. Attitudes to capitalism were nearly the exact inverse, with 57% holding a positive view and 32% viewing it negatively. Voters may be skeptical of socialism, but they overwhelmingly believe the current economic system is stacked against them, with 69% saying the economy favors the wealthy, according to the poll, which was conducted by SSRS from Oct. 19 to Nov. 3, 2026. TRUMP’S GAMBLE ON KEN PAXTON BACKFIRES AS DEMOCRAT PULLS OFF HISTORIC TEXAS SENATE UPSET This dynamic — voters rejecting the label of socialism while also believing the rich enjoy disproportionate economic benefits — could explain why Democratic candidates like Abdul El-Sayed won, despite the opposition portraying them as too radical. El-Sayed, who defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race, repeatedly said throughout the campaign that he was a capitalist who did not support unfettered, laissez-faire capitalism. “I believe in capitalism. I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated,” El-Sayed said in a July interview with CNN’s Manu Raju. “We live in a society right now where too many monopolies and oligopolies can buy politicians to get their way.” On top of his antitrust focus, El-Sayed frequently hammered away at billionaires, pledging to pursue taxation policies to make them “pay their fair share.” UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS CONTRADICT EL-SAYED’S ‘CAPITALIST’ NARRATIVE Notably, El-Sayed rejected the Democratic socialist label despite supporting Medicare-for-all and routinely campaigning with Sen. Bernie Sanders, the policy’s most prominent champion and a self-described Democratic socialist. James Talarico in Texas is another Democratic candidate who won big on Tuesday after explicitly pairing his strong belief in capitalism with a sharp critique of wealth and income inequality. “We have got to take on these monopolies, this consolidation, because again, it’s fundamentally anti-capitalist,” Talarico said during a CNN town hall in October. “Right now, again, because billionaires can buy politicians, all of the gains in this economy, all of the growth is going to the top. All of the wealth is being accumulated by the top 1%.” The Fox News poll’s results suggest that at least some voters who embrace capitalism and reject socialism were still comfortable supporting candidates like El-Sayed and Talarico, who ran to the left of the typical Democratic nominee without embracing socialism themselves. The distinction is notable given the political landscape El-Sayed and Talarico faced. Both men were repeatedly branded socialists or Democratic socialists by Republicans, but each responded by defending their preferred form of regulated capitalism. That distinguishes them from political allies such as Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who have embraced the Democratic socialist label while representing deep-blue constituencies in Vermont and New York City, respectively.
Democrats seize majority of governors’ offices in election-night shift
Democrats will hold a majority of the nation’s governorships after a series of victories on election night, shifting control of one of the most influential levels of government in the country to the political party opposite of the White House. As of Wednesday morning, Democrats controlled 28 governorships to Republicans’ 20. Two races, Kansas and Alaska, have yet to be called. The results mark a significant reversal from the political landscape heading into the election, when Republicans held 26 governors’ offices compared with 24 for Democrats. Democrats needed a net gain of at least two seats to take the majority. While congressional control typically generates the most attention, governors across the country play a central role in setting state policy, approving or vetoing legislation, managing state agencies and directing responses to major issues including public safety, education, healthcare, immigration and abortion. They also oversee state elections and frequently serve as the most prominent political figures in their states. The Democratic gains will give the party greater influence over policy in state capitals across the country, even as Republicans continue to control many state legislatures. The impact of the shift will vary by state, particularly in places where the governor’s party does not control both chambers of the legislature. The election-night results in gubernatorial races across the country could also play a role in the 2028 election cycle as Democrats will have a broader bench of governors to potentially choose from ahead of the 2028 presidential contest. Governors often become national party leaders, presidential contenders and prominent surrogates during congressional and White House campaigns. A BLUE WAVE IN GOVERNORS’ MANSIONS COULD HURT FAMILIES MORE THAN A BLUE CONGRESS The new balance could also intensify battles between Democratic governors and the Republican-led federal government on issues including immigration enforcement, environmental regulations, education policy and federal funding. Republicans, meanwhile, will be forced to defend a smaller share of the nation’s governorships in the next election cycle while working to prevent further losses in states where Democrats made gains. 100 DAY SPRINT TO THE MIDTERMS KICKS OFF AS REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS CLASH FOR CONTROL ACROSS THE COUNTRY The shift does not automatically translate into unified Democratic control of state governments. In many states, legislative majorities, attorneys general and other elected officials will continue to shape how much power governors can exercise. But the outcome represents a clear expansion of Democratic influence in state government and provides the party with a broader platform to advance its agenda nationwide. The development could also create headaches for the Trump administration as it opens up more of a potential for lawsuits against the federal government as well as the likelihood of clashes over federal policies.
Vance’s scathing Iran war postmortem puts potential 2028 GOP showdown in focus: ‘Everyone knows why’
Vice President JD Vance delivered a blunt assessment of Republicans’ sweeping midterm losses Wednesday morning, pointing at the Iran war as the driving force behind the party’s election-night defeats. “But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone,” said Vance on X. “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night. If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest. But everyone knows why we lost,” said Vance. “And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.” While President Donald Trump publicly addressed the results, which handed the Democratic Party control of the House and Senate come January, Vance remained quiet until posting a lengthy statement on X Wednesday. He argued that Republicans lost voters who backed the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 amid frustration over the war, rising costs and U.S. relations with Israel. TRUMP DRAWS RED LINE AGAINST NEWLY EMPOWERED DEMOCRATS, VOWING IMMEDIATE VETOES Vance’s blunt assessment comes as speculation mounts over his own political future, with the vice president widely viewed as a potential 2028 Republican presidential contender. Vance has said he has not decided whether to run and planned to weigh his future after the midterms, raising fresh questions about how the GOP’s sweeping losses could shape his White House ambitions. “The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,” said Vance. The midterm elections dealt Republicans a crushing defeat, with Democrats flipping at least seven Senate seats and more than two dozen House districts to seize control of both chambers of Congress. Vance’s remarks mark a shift in his public assessment of the war’s political consequences, after previously defending aspects of the administration’s military campaign while expressing concerns about prolonged U.S. involvement overseas. TRUMP ADMITS IRAN WAR CONTRIBUTED TO GOP MIDTERM LOSSES, INSISTS IT WAS NECESSARY Beyond ending the war, Vance argued that Republicans must address the cost of living, recommit to an America First agenda and “change our relationship to Israel.” “In the next few months, there’s going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I’m open to the idea that we should change enforcement — by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you,” he said. Vance said he remained hopeful about the country’s future and urged voters angry over the election results to channel their frustration into renewed political action. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country,” said Vance. Fox News Digital reached out to the vice president’s office and the White House for comment.
Far-left streamer Hasan Piker gloats after Dem blowout, promises ‘jail’ for conservative enemies
The progressive streamer closely tied to Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, who was cast as a boogeyman by the GOP during the midterm campaign, threatened jail time for at least two of his conservative online counterparts — despite having no real power to make that happen. Hasan Piker mocked God as sweeping victories, including in traditional Republican strongholds, rolled in for Democrats Tuesday night. “WE’RE GONNA PUT YOUR ASS IN JAIL EVERYONE GET MORE WOKE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Piker said on X, replying to conservative commentator Matt Van Swol, who was bemoaning what he described as a “blue tsunami” on election night. “YOURE [sic] GOING TO JAIL JIGSAW (for being criminally ugly),” he later said to far-right personality Laura Loomer, an ally of President Donald Trump. ABDUL EL-SAYED DELIVERS MAJOR BLOW TO GOP IN MICHIGAN AFTER BRUISING SENATE RACE Piker was a major source of controversy on the campaign trail after El-Sayed invited him to Michigan near the end of his primary race, which he ultimately won over establishment Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who was seeking a promotion to the upper chamber. The Los Angeles streamer continued associating himself with the most radical wings of the Democratic Party when he appeared in the final days of the campaign in Minneapolis alongside embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to rally with her following a raid of her Washington, D.C., home tied to an immigration fraud probe. Piker was born in the United States but raised in Turkey before returning to America in 2019. He previously said, “America deserved 9/11,” praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, said capitalists should be murdered in the streets, and is known for expressing antisemitic sentiments, among other controversial comments. EL-SAYED TRIES TO PUT THE HASAN PIKER DEBATE BEHIND HIM AS MIDTERMS APPROACH El-Sayed was asked to condemn Piker on multiple occasions, but refused, instead insisting his campaign was not about a “streamer from California.” Still, images emerged of the two partying together on the day of the primary election this summer. Some of Piker’s comments drew condemnation from Democratic Party leaders, including him saying in September that Jews were causing violence against themselves due to their support for Israel. ANTISEMITIC STREAMER FINALLY MAKES DEM LEADER SNAP WITH RARE REBUKE: ‘MALICIOUS’ “The malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. said in response. He later appeared on CNN, calling Piker’s comments “malicious” and saying they “should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square.” Piker celebrated Sen.-elect James Talarico’s historic win in Texas by repeating a controversial comment from the Democrat that Republicans used to attack him during his race. The soon-to-be senator was painted as too extreme for once saying “God is nonbinary.” “GOD IS NONBINARY NOW MFS!!! ITS LAW!!!” the radical streamer said. JAMES TALARICO BLAMES RISE IN GOP ‘EXTREMISM’ FOR PROMPTING HIS ‘GOD IS NON-BINARY,’ SIX SEXES REMARKS Piker reiterated that message Wednesday morning. RADICAL SOCIALIST WING’S HUGE NIGHT REVEALS ASCENDING CLOUT WITHIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY “why [sic] is the texas [sic] senator more progressive than most blue dogs in purple house districts? talarico [sic] should now the baseline for the party. god is nonbinary baby! everyone get more socialist now!!!!!!” he posted on social media. “WOKE IS SO BACK,” he said in another post. Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress Tuesday night in historic fashion, and hopes from Republicans that far-left elements of the party might hinder their chances in taking back control went unrealized. So far, Democrats stand at 54 Senate seats after sweeping wins in typically red Texas, ruby-red Kansas and other Republican strongholds like South Carolina. Votes are still being counted into Wednesday in a tight race in Alaska, that could see Democrats winning yet another seat in the Senate and widening their majority over the GOP. The outcome of the midterms could have massive implications for the 2028 race, as well, where Republicans will face one of their biggest-ever challenges in trying to flip back the upper chamber. Needing only 218 to control the House, Democrats went into Wednesday morning with 228 seats, with more projected to filter in as ballots are counted and races are called.
What the 2026 midterm results mean for Capitol Hill
Political observers will rank the midterm elections of 2026 alongside the epic sea changes of 1994, 2010 and 2018. It’s generally thought that the 1994 midterm, which propelled Newt Gingrich to the House speakership, was the most seismic. That’s largely because Republicans hadn’t controlled the House in 40 years. But 2026 will likely rival 1994, because of how Democrats overperformed in House races in Trump-favored districts, overcame redistricting in Texas and Florida, and won in states like South Carolina and Kansas. Don’t forget that heading into this cycle, 23 of the 35 seats favored Republicans. On paper, this looked like a favorable year for the GOP. The question is just how large the margins might be for Democrats, and what that means when it comes to working — or not working — with President Donald Trump. The president has signaled he’ll veto extreme measures which come from Congress under Democratic control, but also offered to work together on certain issues. TRUMP CONGRATULATES DEMOCRATS AFTER DOMINANT MIDTERMS, SAYS HE LOOKS FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM Democrats could argue the vote was a mandate to rebuke the president. Some won’t be willing to work with him at all. Trump is out the door in a little over two years. He suffered historic losses in states and districts which he carried by double digits two years ago. Democrats are already threatening administration officials they’d better “lawyer up,” promising a host of inquests into alleged corruption and influence peddling. Yes, there will be lots of attention on Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, D-Mich., and DSA-affiliated members coming to Washington like Reps.-elect Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez of New York, Melat Kiros of Colorado, Donavan McKinney of Michigan and Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania. They will push “Medicare for All” and efforts to defund ICE and will oppose money and aid to Israel. But how much of that truly gets across the finish line? While Democrats made extraordinary gains in both the House and Senate, they did so with moderates. Newly minted House Democrats who flipped solid GOP turf are the true majority-makers, not progressives. So while hard-left Democrats might pitch bills to pack the Supreme Court or convert Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico into states, the pathways for those measures are challenging. Democrats, regardless of where they reside on the political spectrum, won on a message of affordability. Democrats must show they can move the meter on gas prices and the cost of groceries. AMERICA SAW THE BLUE WAVE COMING — BUT DRASTICALLY UNDERESTIMATED THE EXTENT OF THE DEM TSUNAMI Rep.-elect Don Leonard, a Democrat, upset Republican Rep. Mike Carey in central Ohio. Rep.-elect Rebecca Cooke, D-Wis., defeated Republican Derrick Van Orden. Rep.-elect Christina Bohannan, D-Iowa, defeated Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Rep.-elect Fred Wellman, D-Mo., unexpectedly toppled Rep. Ann Wagner. Democrats are just renting these districts for now. They will be in play again in 2028. However, for the first time in years, Democrats have seriously encroached into Republican turf in the Midwest and the South. That phenomenon is emphasized even more so by the victories of Sens.-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Josh Turek of Iowa and Annie Andrews of South Carolina. These moderates didn’t get there by tying themselves to the Left. They can’t support some of the more extreme themes propounded by progressives and the DSA. So it’s doubtful those left-wing ideas go anywhere. That sets the table for a schism between moderates and progressives and could spark an internecine firestorm inside the Democratic Party. This is also about the math. It’s possible that Democrats land more than 240 House seats and build on their current 54 seats. Let’s say the House and Senate do pass some legislation which President Trump promises to veto. If the legislation is semi-bipartisan, it would only take about 50 House Republicans to join in with Democrats to meet the two-thirds threshold of 290 votes to override a veto. In the Senate, 67 votes are necessary to override. It may be a little tougher to cobble together the votes of 13 Republicans to join Democrats. Trump will always have his allies on Capitol Hill, but Republicans in both bodies may veer away from him based on Tuesday night’s rout. The next measure of Trump’s political influence among congressional Republicans comes early next week. House Republicans must decide who leads their conference in the minority. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is signaling he won’t run for minority leader, while sources tell Fox News Digital that Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., plans to announce a run for minority leader, with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also seeking the role. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is signaling he intends to run again as whip. It’s not unprecedented for a House speaker to accept a demotion to minority leader. House Speaker Joe Martin, R-Mass., was minority leader in the 1940s and 1950s, then speaker, then back to minority leader. House Speaker Sam Rayburn, D-Texas, was minority leader in the 1940s, then speaker, then minority leader, then back to speaker. And, like Rayburn toggling back and forth, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was minority leader, then speaker, then minority leader, then speaker again. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: A DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY COULD EXPOSE THE LIMITS OF THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA Jordan’s pitch for minority leader is simple. He tangled with the Democrats during the first impeachment of President Trump in 2019 and 2020 and during the Biden administration. It’s unclear what Democrats will be able to approve legislatively with their new majority, but Democrats have promised scorched-Earth investigations of the Trump administration: inquests into family members; questions about crypto; alleged pay-to-play schemes with donors, friends of the Trump family and business; investigations into Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Republicans predict it will be brutal. The question is the mood of the House Republican Conference. After such a loss, do they want to lean on the same team that got them to
Ilhan Omar lashes out at ‘bigot’ Trump after winning re-election despite investigation
After winning re-election on Tuesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told supporters early Wednesday that Democrats’ overwhelming victories across the country sent a message to “the bigot in the White House and his friends that we are not going to be a pawn in their game.” Omar referring to President Donald Trump as a “bigot” comes after his repeated attacks on the congresswoman whom he has called “garbage,” a “disaster” and a “disgrace to our country.” He has also said Omar, who became a U.S. citizen in 2000, should “go back” to Somalia. Omar won her race this cycle with more than 76% of the vote, continuing her string of landslide general election victories in one of the bluest congressional districts in the country. The two federal criminal investigations she faces — both of which became public just over three weeks before Election Day — did not appear to dissuade voters in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District from supporting her. ILHAN OMAR BELIEVES TRUMP RAID ON HOME WAS MEANT TO ‘INTIMIDATE AND SCARE PEOPLE’ FROM VOTING In her speech, Omar appeared to reference Operation Metro Surge, which deployed thousands of federal immigration officers primarily to Minneapolis and St. Paul to carry out removal operations. The operation drew fierce local opposition and large-scale protests, during which two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed. “When this administration came for Minnesotans, we knew that we could respond by showing up in the streets and protecting our neighbors, but we also knew when Election Day came that we were going to provide an answer by directly rejecting them in the ballot box,” Omar said. Omar also addressed the federal probes examining whether she fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship and whether there were discrepancies in her financial disclosures, framing them as an attempt by the White House to intimidate her and her supporters. 175 DEMOCRATS DEMAND TRUMP ADMIN STOP ILHAN OMAR INVESTIGATION, WARN IT COULD HURT HER RE-ELECTION BID “When they decided that they were going to come for me, they thought that they were going to find someone who was going to cower,” Omar said. “They thought they were going to find a community that was going to live in fear. They thought that if you attacked me and you silenced me, that my community wouldn’t show up and vote.” Omar shouted out Democratic victories in the Ohio, Maine and Texas Senate races, arguing it proved there had been a backlash against the Trump administration’s policies over the last two years. She concluded her remarks by echoing Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who said after the Democratic wave that the Trump family should “lawyer up.” Come January, Garcia is set to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which has subpoena power to compel testimony and obtain documents. “He said, ‘You better lawyer up.’ Because your time of harassment is over. It is our time for accountability and transparency. And if you thought that the Democrats took it easy on you in 2019, wait until you meet these kind of new Democrats,” Omar said.
Mike Johnson’s No 2 launches GOP takeover bid as House falls to Democrats
Prominent House Republicans are beginning to fight over who will be President Donald Trump’s top defender amid a likely barrage of Democrat-led investigations. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., has begun informing his colleagues that he intends to run for the GOP’s top leadership spot after Republicans lost their chamber majority in the 2026 midterms, two sources told Fox News Digital. One source described his pitch: “His number one goal will be to lead the conference back into the majority. He is a proven and tested leader who is ready on day one. He’s spent his career unifying Republicans, and he is prepared for the big legislative and oversight battles ahead. The conference knows him, how he fights, and that he’s a trusted leader.” Scalise has spent more than a decade in House GOP leadership, but prior bids to ascend to the top spot have failed. That includes his October 2023 bid to succeed exiled former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., when Scalise ultimately failed to get enough support to move to a House-wide vote. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CONGRESS BRACES FOR POST-ELECTION GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS AS LEADERSHIP BATTLES LOOM His decision to seek the minority leader role will set up a brutal battle against House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who will mount his own campaign to lead the GOP minority. It comes on the heels of his ally, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., telling his staff that he will not seek to lead the House GOP in the next Congress. Winning the House minority leader job is a far easier task than becoming speaker. The latter role needs a majority of the entire 435-seat House body; minority leaders only need to win more than 50% of lawmakers within their own party. JOHNSON DELIVERS BIG FOR TRUMP, BUT FRUSTRATION GROWS ACROSS RAZOR-THIN GOP MAJORITY Scalise has spent his nearly two decades in office building coalitions and winning allies that will give him a good shot at victory. He’s also spent the campaign season crisscrossing the country to support House Republican candidates while raising millions of dollars for the GOP. But that goodwill will be tested after Republicans suffered historic losses in Tuesday night’s elections. Several House Republicans told Fox News Digital they wanted to see new leadership after the tidal wave of Democratic victories. “They should all step aside and let new people run,” one House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital on Wednesday morning. But whoever wins House minority leader will have the critical task of being Trump’s top bulldog for the final two years of his term. House Democrats have signaled they are ready for a wide array of investigations targeting the president’s business interests, family and allies, and are even positioning to impeach his Cabinet officials.