Axios

House Republicans killed a Democratic resolution on Wednesday which would have forced a floor debate over U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

The big picture: Republicans voted to strip the bill, which would have withdrew support of the Saudis' presence, of privilege, meaning that Republicans can essentially ignore the bill until Democrats take control of the House in January. Meanwhile, a bill with similar privileged status is currently in the Senate and is expected to reach the floor later this month, reports the Huffington Post. Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), lead author of the resolution, tweeted that Republicans "are abdicating congressional oversight duties on their way out of power."

A bipartisan effort by Senators Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) to force a floor vote on a bill shielding Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired failed on Wednesday after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the measure.

Why it matters: The fate of Mueller's Russia investigation has been under speculation following last week’s abrupt resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, at the request of President Trump, and the appointment of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has publicly criticized the scope of the probe.

President Trump announced his support for the bipartisan criminal justice reform bill in the Senate Wednesday, urging members of Congress to pass the bill and saying he "looks forward to signing it."

Why it matters: Trump's endorsement is a promising sign for reform advocates like Jared Kushner, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who have been pushing to get a bill passed in the Senate for the past several months. The Senate version of the bill would lower certain mandatory minimum sentences and allow some prisoners to go home early.

Democratic newcomer Andy Kim on Wednesday defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur in a New Jersey House race, handing Democrats another GOP-held seat.

Why it matters: While Democrats already secured the House majority on Nov. 6, Kim’s victory further consolidates the party’s power in the lower chamber. Meanwhile, House Democrats are still hoping to flip several other seats in midterm races yet to be called.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has defeated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), 159 to 43, in the election to lead the Republican minority.

What's next: McCarthy, who played a key role as chief deputy whip in flipping the House in 2010, will replace Paul Ryan as House Republican leader in January. McCarthy was widely expected to win.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have been re-elected as the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, respectively, reports NBC News.

What to watch: On the other side of the Capitol, House Republicans will hold their leadership elections Wednesday afternoon, while Democrats won't vote until Nov. 28.

Speaking at the National Action Network legislative conference, Sen. Bernie Sanders blasted President Trump, calling him a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe and a religious bigot, reports The Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere.

"We have a president who is a racist, a president who is a sexist, a president who is a homophobe, and a president who is a xenophobe, and a president who is a religious bigot. It gives me no joy to tell you that. But it is the truth and we need to confront that."

Go deeper ... Exclusive poll: Most Democrats see Republicans as racist, sexist

Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are unveiling a bill Wednesday that seeks to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using information collected by Health and Human Services to arrest family members or others who come forward to care for unaccompanied migrant children.

Why it matters: Between July and September of this year ICE reportedly arrested 41 potential caretakers of unaccompanied migrant children — most of whom were in the U.S. illegally. Critics worry that the arrests have deterred potential sponsors from coming forward to take custody of these children, which has contributed to the record number of migrant minors in HHS centers and tent cities. The Families Not Facilities Act would also transfer $220 million to HHS and FBI programs intended to care for and protect children and child migrants.

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) advised President Trump that it was within his authority to nominate an official such as former DOJ chief of staff Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general following Jeff Session's resignation, a senior DOJ official told reporters on Wednesday.

Between the lines: In its written opinion, the OLC argued that the Vacancies Reform Act (VRA) and AG Succession Act present two possible legal avenues for choosing a temporary AG successor, and that neither supersedes the other. The VRA allows the president to choose a high-level agency official who has served for 90 days, regardless of whether they have received Senate confirmation.

A team of lawyers from the conservative Federalist Society, organized by Kellyanne Conway's husband George Conway, have formed a group dedicated to highlighting the Trump administration's perceived flouting of constitutional and legal norms, reports the New York Times.

Details: The formation of the group, called Checks and Balances, came ahead of the start of the Federalist Society's annual convention. The Federalist Society has taken on a leading role in the Trump administration's move to reshape the nation's federal courts. In a statement, the 14 lawyers who formed Checks and Balances say that they "believe in the rule of law, the power of the truth, the independence of the criminal justice system, the imperative of individual rights, and the necessity of civil discourse. ... We seek to provide a voice and a network for like-minded attorneys to discuss these ideas."

Americans were not alone in closely watching midterm returns. For much of the world, the election outcome was taken, rightly or wrongly, as a barometer of President Trump’s re-election chances and the impact of investigations by both Robert Mueller and a Democratic House.

The big picture: Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel are some of the countries that have invested most heavily in their relationships with Trump in an effort to fortify bilateral relations. But now that the omens regarding 2020 seem less favorable to Republicans, countries that banked on Trump might have to start hedging their bets by endearing themselves to the Democrats.

Incoming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's visit — and high-fives — with climate protestors at House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's office shows both energy and fault lines on the left over how ascendant House Democrats should approach the topic.

Driving the news: Ocasio-Cortez, a rising progressive star, attended the demonstration yesterday by young climate activists with the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats. "This is about uplifting the voice, and the message, of the fact that we need a green New Deal and and we need to get to 100 percent renewables because our lives depend on it," she told reporters, according to several outlets.

Eight days after election night, Democrats are still holding out hope they can flip several seats from the House, Senate and gubernatorial races with margins of tenths of a percentage point between the winners and the losers.

Why it matters: Contrary to what President Trump said would be a measly House majority for the Democrats, they have 32 gained seats in the House, nine more than needed. And Republicans didn't pick up as many Senate seats as leaders had hoped.

When John Kelly publicly announced this summer that President Trump had asked him to stay on as White House chief of staff until 2020, the most common reactions in Trump's inner circle were bemusement and, in some cases, laughter — no one thought it was real. And they were right.

What's happening: Trump has long been casting about for a replacement and has, on several occasions, made what in any normal world would be taken as an official job offer to Mike Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers, 36. But when Trump offers you a job, it's not always as it seems. He has discussed the job with Ayers sporadically for months. Sources close to Pence's chief tell me that in recent weeks, Ayers has privately expressed a "Who knows?" attitude: It could happen tomorrow, or in several months, or maybe never.

For the longest time, the only person shielding Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen from Trump's anger has been her friend and mentor — chief of staff John Kelly.

Driving the news: Sources close to Trump say he doesn't think Nielsen is being aggressive enough at fulfilling his hard-line immigration agenda. But more than that, Trump puts a lot of stock in personal chemistry. And once he's decided he doesn't have "chemistry" with someone, it's very hard for that person to come back from that.

Michelle Obama's highly anticipated new memoir "Becoming" hit shelves on Tuesday, quickly propelling to a number one best seller on Amazon, the New York Times reports.

Driving the news: The former first lady's book was a revealing look at her life before her husband ran for president, her time in the White House and how she felt when it was time to exit after the 2016 presidential election. She also dived into personal experiences including how she conceived her daughters and insights on her marriage.