Axios

President Trump told the New York Post on Wednesday that if the incoming House Democratic majority "harass" him by launching investigations into his administration, he would declassify documents related to the Russia probe that he claimed would be damaging to them.

"I think that would help my campaign. If they want to play tough, I will do it. They will see how devastating those pages are."

The backdrop: House Democrats are already preparing for an onslaught of hearings, subpoenas and investigations from Trump's family business dealings, tax returns and the Russia probe.

Stormy Daniels told The Daily Beast that her attorney Michael Avenatti went against her wishes and filed a defamation suit against President Trump earlier this year as well as started crowdfunding page to pay for her legal defense fund without informing her.

"I’m tremendously grateful to him for aggressively representing me in my fight to regain my voice. But in other ways Michael has not treated me with the respect and deference an attorney should show to a client. He has spoken on my behalf without my approval. He filed a defamation case against Donald Trump against my wishes. He repeatedly refused to tell me how my legal defense fund was being spent."

President Trump has asked federal agencies to find ways to cut subsidies to General Motors after the auto giant announced it's laying off 15% of its salaried workforce and closing factories in Michigan, Ohio, Maryland and Canada, Bloomberg's Justin Sink and Ryan Beene report.

Why it matters: The story signals a potentially wide-ranging effort to punish the auto giant over its planned cuts, one that extends beyond yesterday's buzz about electric vehicle tax credits (which Trump cannot change unilaterally and won't help GM much longer anyway).

The Senate voted 63-37 on Wednesday to advance a resolution that aims to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which has spiraled into the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

Why it matters: The resolution failed 55-44 earlier this year, but after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Embassy in Turkey, and what many senators considered an inadequate response by the Trump administration, lawmakers have decided to push the measure forward. But while this is a rebuke of the White House's desire to stand by Saudi Arabia, the resolution still needs to be debated on the floor. Meanwhile, the White House plans to veto the measure if it reaches the president's desk.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been nominated by the Democratic Caucus to be speaker of the House and will face a full floor vote on Jan. 3.

Why it matters: Pelosi, who has faced a wave of resistance from Democrats that believe the party needs fresh leadership, told reporters she thinks she's "in pretty good shape" to get the 218 votes necessary to be elected speaker for the second time. If elected, Pelosi will serve as a de facto opposition leader to President Trump, responsible not only for advancing the Democratic Party's policy agenda, but also for setting their strategy for investigating the administration.

The White House has threatened to veto a joint resolution, up for a procedural vote in the Senate today, which would pull U.S. support from the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen.

Why it matters: Opposition began gathering steam after Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed, particularly as reports emerged alleging that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible. Earlier today, several senators left a briefing on the murder from Secretaries James Mattis and Mike Pompeo unsatisfied and fuming that CIA Director Gina Haspel didn't testify. The resolution failed earlier this year, but now appears to have a better chance of success, at least in the Senate.

Thomas Farr, President Trump's controversial nominee to become a district judge in North Carolina, survived a key procedural Senate vote Wednesday after Vice President Mike Pence broke a 50-50 tie, inching him closer to confirmation.

Why it matters: Farr’s record of supporting restrictive voting measures as an attorney in North Carolina has sparked backlash among Democrats and civil rights groups. Sen. Jeff Flake joined all Senate Democrats in opposing Farr in the vote, which preceded an expected final confirmation vote on his nomination later this week.

Go deeper: Trump judicial pick in limbo, seen as a threat to voting rights

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bipartisan bill sponsored by Democratic Senators that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller from White House influence, per NBC News.

Why it matters: The bill gained traction after Jeff Sessions resigned from the Department of Justice as attorney general and President Trump tapped Matthew Whitaker to temporarily take charge of overseeing the Mueller investigation. Whitaker has been critical of the investigation before and has raised questions about the future of the probe.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo deflected questions Wednesday about why CIA director Gina Haspel did not appear at a Senate briefing on military aid to Saudi Arabia, and claimed that there is "no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi."

The big picture: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters that Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis, who also appeared before the Senate, explained in the briefing that Haspel's absence was "a decision by the White House." Haspel was dispatched to Turkey following the death of Khashoggi and has reportedly heard an audio recording of the murder.

Update: CIA Press Secretary Timothy Barrett told NBC News, "The notion that anyone told Director Haspel not to attend today's briefing is false."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has as many Twitter followers as the other incoming 60 Democratic freshman House members combined, according to numbers compiled by Elizabeth Hale at Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, a lobbying firm.

Why it matters: In the next Congress, with so many young members, having a strong digital presence could be more important than seniority. Ocasio-Cortez in particular has used Twitter (1.38 million followers) and Instagram (just under 1 million followers) to connect people around the country, promote policy platforms and troll Republicans before she's even started her official job.

President Trump had a busy Wednesday morning on Twitter, retweeting a number of tweets from parody and fan accounts.

Why it matters: Trump's Twitter is his favorite form of direct communication to the American people — former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer once called Trump's tweets "official statements" — yet the accounts he retweeted are littered with controversial statements, inaccuracies and misinformation.

The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. has dropped to the lowest level in 10 years, but today's immigrants are more likely to have been in the U.S. for more than a decade, according to a new study by Pew Research.

Why it matters: While the Trump administration wages war on illegal border crossers and immigrants who overstay their visas, the actual number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. has been falling — even as the share of the population born outside the U.S. has reached an all-time high.

Ivanka Trump defended her use of a private email account to send hundreds of emails to White House aides in an interview with ABC News, saying there is "no equivalency" to what Hillary Clinton did with a private email server.

The big picture: Trump says all of the emails "are stored and preserved. There were no deletions. There is no attempt to hide anything." But her use of a personal email account is a prime target for House Democrats who say they want to investigate it for a possible violation of federal law. President Trump made Clinton's use of a private email server a primary talking point during his campaign and has continued to mention it since taking office, tweeting about it as recently as Tuesday night.

President Trump told Politico in an interview on Tuesday night that he's "totally" willing to shut down the government if he doesn't get $5 billion approved for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, calling the issue "a total winner" politically.

Why it matters: The fight over border wall funding has been a long time coming, but Trump has backed down before after threatening a shutdown over the summer and before the midterm elections. Senate Democratic leaders have said they would approve $1.6 billion for border security, but GOP sources told Politico they think Democrats "will want to strike a deal so they start 2019 with a fresh spending slate." The fight comes as the administration has shifted its focus to the caravans of Central American migrants seeking asylum at the border.

Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated Democratic challenger Mike Espy in Tuesday’s election run-off, the final Senate race in the year’s midterm cycle, per the AP.

Why it matters: The race gained national attention after Hyde-Smith, who’s white, said at a campaign event earlier this month that she’d attend a “public hanging” if invited and “I’d be on the front row.” The remark triggered outrage due to Mississippi’s history of racially motivated lynchings and prompted several major organizations to request their donations to her campaign be refunded. Hyde-Smith had apologized for her remarks, which she said were an “exaggerated expression of regard."

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s lawyer repeatedly talked to the president's attorneys about discussions with federal investigators after Manafort began cooperating two months ago with the special counsel, sources familiar with the matter told the New York Times in a report Tuesday.

Why it matters: The president's legal team has long maintained a joint defense agreement with witnesses in Robert Mueller's Russian inquiry, including Manafort. But the Times reports that it’s "highly unusual" for the agreement to continue after a witness reaches a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Rudy Giuliani, one of the president’s personal lawyers representing him in Mueller’s probe, has confirmed the arrangement with the Times and defended it.

Mississippi voters will fill the remaining vacant Senate seat Tuesday in a runoff between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and her Democratic challenger, Mike Espy. The race went to a runoff when neither candidate managed to reach 50 percent on November 6th.

The big picture: Hyde-Smith would be the first woman elected to represent the state in Congress but has only a slight lead. Espy would be Mississippi's first African-American senator since Reconstruction. The winner will serve the remaining two years of Senator Thad Cochran’s term and have to run again in 2020.

The Trump administration is appealing a court order from a United States district judge currently blocking the government from denying asylum to migrants who come into the country illegally, the Associated Press reports.

Between the lines: The administration is appealing the judge's ruling that Trump attempted to circumvent Congress by rewriting immigration laws. When the order was initially blocked, U.S. District Court Judge Jon S. Tigar in San Francisco said that Trump "may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden."

Go deeper:

• Trump's 3 immigration wars.
• Judge blocks asylum ban for migrants entering U.S.
• Trump's new barrier for migrants attempting to enter the U.S.