National

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed during an appearance on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures” to remove several prominent House Democrats from their committee assignments if he becomes speaker of the House.

Why it matters: While not yet confirmed, McCarthy is aiming to become the next speaker after Republicans narrowly captured the House in the 2022 midterms.

Last week McCarthy cleared a major hurdle for the position after House Republicans voted 188-31 by secret ballot to nominate him for the role.

State of play: If he succeeds in clinching the position of speaker, McCarthy said that Republicans would "not allow" Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to serve on the House Intelligence Committee. 

McCarthy added that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wouldn't be allowed to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her "antisemitic comments."

McCarthy had pledged back in January to remove Schiff, Swalwell, and Omar from their committee assignments if Republicans retook the House.

McCarthy's comments came a day after he told the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2022 leadership meeting in Las Vegas that if he becomes speaker will remove Omar from her House Foreign Affairs Committee over her past remarks about Israel.

What they're saying: "Last year, I promised that when I became Speaker, I would remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee based on her repeated anti-semitic and anti-American remarks. I'm keeping that promise," McCarthy tweeted Saturday, alongside a video clip of his appearance at the meeting.

"We watch antisemitism grow, not just on our campuses, but we watched it grow in the halls of Congress," McCarthy added in his remarks, Fox News reported.

Reality check: Twitter added a text box offering "added context" below McCarthy's tweet. It notes that the "Speaker does not have the power to remove a member from a standing committee. Foreign Affairs is a standing committee."

"Only a majority vote by the entire house could remove Rep. Omar," it added.

The big picture: Omar has faced controversy several times concerning her comments about Israel.

In 2019, Omar implied in a tweet that political support for Israel is based on campaign donations from pro-Israel lobbying group, specifically AIPAC. She later apologized for her remarks.

In 2021, Omar clashed with Jewish Democrats in the House after tweeting about "unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban," in reference to investigations by the International Criminal Court. She later clarified that she was not "equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries."

Republicans have long accused Omar of antisemitism — a charge she denies.

McCarthy has previously tried to boot Swalwell from his committee assignment over his ties to Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese spy.

Swalwell was not accused of wrongdoing and cut off ties with Fang after receiving an FBI briefing.

In January, McCarthy said Schiff "lied to the American public" with his support of the unverified Steele dossier, which alleged extensive ties between former President Trump and Russia.

What they're saying: In a lengthy statement, Omar criticized the GOP for repeatedly allowing party members such as Marjorie Taylor Greene or Donald Trump to attack her while openly tolerating "antisemitism, anti-Muslim hate and racism in their own party." 

"Instead of doing anything to address the open hostility towards religious minorities in his party, McCarthy is now lifting up people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, [Tom] Emmer and so many others. If he cared about addressing the rise in hate, he would apologize and make sure others in his party apologized," the statement said.

“McCarthy’s effort to repeatedly single me out for scorn and hatred—including threatening to strip me from my committee—does nothing to address the issues our constituents deal with," she continued. “What it does is gin up fear and hate against Somali-Americans and anyone who shares my identity, and further divide us along racial and ethnic lines."

In Feb. 2021, House Democrats, along with 11 Republicans, voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from her committee assignments over her past endorsement of baseless conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric against Democrats, which included antisemitic remarks.

After Greene compared to covid-19 public health mandates to the Holocaust, McCarthy released a statement condemning her views as "wrong" and "appalling."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.

McCarthy says he'll remove Ilhan Omar from committee assignment

McCarthy vowed to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee over her past "anti-semitic and anti-American remarks."

Kevin McCarthy delivers remarks during the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Meeting 

Kevin McCarthy delivers remarks during the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 19. Photo: Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Kevin McCarthy

Rep. Lofgren says Jan. 6 committee to release final report "within a month"

"Within a month, the public will have everything that we've found, all the evidence, for good or ill," she said,

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) speaking in the Capitol in October 2022.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) speaking in the Capitol in October 2022. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Jan. 6

Donald Trump

House Republicans representing districts President Biden carried

Data: AP, Daily Kos, The New York Times. Chart: Axios Visuals

The number of House Republicans in crossover seats — districts carried by President Biden — nearly doubled from 2020 to 2022.

Why it matters: This new cast of independent-minded Republicans could act as a moderating force in Kevin McCarthy's caucus.

The new Congress will include 16 to 18 House Republicans in Biden districts — up from nine after the 2020 election.

Six of the split-ticket lawmakers hail from New York. Three to five will represent California (pending race calls). 

The number of Democrats representing Trump districts dipped: There'll likely be five of them — down from seven in the last Congress.

🔎 Between the lines: The majority-making Republicans who hail from blue districts want party leaders to focus on the economy, not impeachment.

Former GOP Rep. Tom Davis, chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2003 to 2007, told me in a panel discussion: "Nobody wants to go through [an impeachment] and lose the floor vote.... People are tired of that."

🖼️ The big picture: Even as the number of split-ticket voters inched up this year, the country is still in a historically partisan phase. 

The 21 to 23 split-ticket districts are ahead of 2020's level — but below the number of split-ticket seats in 2016 (35) and 2012 (26).  

After President Obama's decisive victory in 2008, there were 83 split-ticket districts — including 49 Dems in districts John McCain won. 

🔬 Zoom in: The biggest House over-performers were Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), Rep.-elect Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) and Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) 

If Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Republican John Duarte of California hold on to their leads, they'll join the list.

🔭 Zoom out: In the Senate, partisanship was still king: 

Republicans won all 17 of the Senate races in states that Trump won in 2020. Democrats led in 15 of the 16 Senate races in states Biden carried. 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) was the only senator to prevail in a Biden state, with the Georgia Senate race heading to a runoff.

Midterms highlight GOP crossover victories

The number of House Republicans in crossover seats nearly doubled from 2020.

House Republicans

Midterm Elections 2022

Kari Lake, perhaps the most Trumpian candidate running for office this year, narrowly lost her bid for Arizona governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs.  

Exit polls underscore that she lost by failing to focus on the concerns of college-educated white suburbanites — even as the GOP made inroads with the state's Hispanic voters.

By the numbers:  Hobbs won 55% of white college-educated voters, according to the AP/NORC exit poll, a strong showing that's even better than Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's impressive 51% performance with the demographic in 2018.  

But among Hispanic voters, Lake made clear gains. Hobbs won Latino voters by 15 points (57% to 42%), a significant drop from Sinema's 38-point margin of victory with Hispanics in 2018.  

Independents backed Hobbs over Lake by 30 points, 64% to 34%.  Hobbs even won 11% of Republicans. 

How Kari Lake lost her bid for Arizona governor

Kari Lake failed to focus on the concerns of college-educated white suburbanites.

Midterm elections 2022

The NRSC, under incoming chairman Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, announced its first wave of senior staff hires, provided exclusively to Axios.

Jason Thielman will be executive director for the 2024 cycle. He's a veteran Republican operative who has served as Daines' top aide since his first election to the House in 2012.

Brock Lowrance will be senior adviser to Daines. Lowrance, a Montanan, previously worked at FP1 Strategies.

Katie Behnke will be finance director. She is a veteran political fundraiser and owner of the Maybell Group. Behnke was also NRSC finance director in 2018.

Mike Alm will be senior director of digital and marketing. He was EVP at Campaign Solutions, where he provided fundraising and political strategy to Republican congressional candidates.

Mike Berg will be comms director. He was most recently deputy comms director for the NRCC, and previously was a communications staffer for Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley. Berg worked at the NRSC during the 2018 cycle.

🕶️ What to watch for: After a disappointing cycle for Senate Republicans, Daines has signaled he's going to approach things differently than outgoing NRSC chairman Rick Scott. 

Daines suggests Republicans will engage more actively in Republican primaries than Scott, who took a hands-off approach that led to flawed GOP nominees emerging. 

First look: NRSC's senior hires

Steve Daines to change direction of the GOP's Senate chief fundraising panel.

Illustration of an elephant trunk holding a smartphone glowing red.

Denver

Axios Denver

Colorado Springs Police chief Adrian Vasquez on Sunday called Club Q a "safe haven" for people in the LGBTQ community. 

Driving the news: That haven was shattered Saturday night, when a suspected 22-year-old gunman opened fire inside the nightclub, leaving at least five people dead and 18 wounded. 

Vasquez credited two "heroic" people for helping subdue the gunman. 

Club Q in a statement called the incident a "senseless attack on our community." 

Law enforcement officers are investigating the motive for the shooting as well as whether it was a hate crime, Vasquez said. 

The big picture: Colorado Springs, a city known for its conservative leanings, is home to some Christian leaders who have openly denounced homosexuality. Still, the city of roughly 500,000 people has a small LGBTQ community.

Club Q was scheduled to host a Drag Brunch on Sunday morning, and to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance with an evening show.

What they're saying: Joshua Thurman, a Colorado Springs resident, told the Colorado Sun that he was on the dance floor Saturday night when the shooting started. He called the club "an important part of the gay community" in the city. 

"I'm glad some of my friends weren't here. But this is my community," Samaria Sullivan, who identifies as a lesbian, told the Colorado Sun on Sunday. 

"This unspeakable attack has robbed countless people of their friends and family and an entire community's sense of safety," Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, wrote on Twitter. 

The attack comes as anti-gay rhetoric has intensified, the Denver Post writes. 

Ellis tweeted that "false and vile rhetoric about LGBTQ people [is] spread by extremists and amplified across social media," noting there were "nearly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year..."

What to watch: A vigil is scheduled at 11:30am MT Sunday at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Colorado Springs.

Denver Members

Axios Denver Deep Dive

Denver Alerts

Picture of the Denver skyline with DEN written across it.

Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters John Frank and Alayna Alvarez.

Axios Denver Thought Bubble

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A guide to fun things to do in Denver this weekend.

Axios Denver Weekender

Club Q a "haven" for Colorado Springs LGBTQ community

Authorities are investigating whether the attack is a hate crime.

A bouquet of flowers is left near Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Nov. 20. Photo: Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images

Axios AM

Data: AP, Politico. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

All that empty space on the map above tells a vivid story about polarized America: 

For all the national turmoil, America's midterms were played on a remarkably narrow terrain, with only 26 House seats (6% of the races) flipping from one party to the other. 

Why it matters: We’re a closely divided country, and neither party was able to move the needle much despite the external turmoil. 

With hundreds of millions spent in dozens of battlegrounds, voters have largely stuck with the status quo. 

Axios' Josh Kraushaar narrates the flips:

Nearly half (7 of 18) of GOP pickups were almost automatic because of redistricting.

Four of the 18 seats Republicans flipped were in New York.

Four of the 8 seats Dems flipped were almost entirely because Republicans nominated MAGA, Trump-aligned candidates.

🧮 By the numbers: 96% of U.S. House races were won by the biggest spender, according to Open Secrets.

The next U.S. House is on track for 23 "crossover districts" — seats held by the party opposite of that seat's Biden/Trump winner, Cook Political report's Dave Wasserman projects. That's a rebound from the current all-time low of 16. (More from Josh in tonight's Axios Sneak Peek.)

The bottom line: Republicans are heading for a 222-213 majority — an exact mirror image of Dems' current slim majority, Wasserman says.

America's frozen midterms

America's midterms were played on a remarkably narrow terrain, with only 26 House seats flipping from one party to the other.

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A Republican-led House of Representatives "is going to be chaos," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday on ABC News' "This Week."

Why it matters: Republicans have won a narrow majority in the House, and some within the party have said they intend to seek the impeachment of Biden administration officials and to open several investigations into the FBI and Justice Department, President Biden and members of his family.

Republicans' slim majority in the chamber threatens GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy's ambitions to become speaker, as he may have to rely on the the party's far-right to get the 218 votes he needs for the position.

Last week, House Republicans voted 188-31 to nominate McCarthy for speaker, though he was challenged by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and did not get the votes he'll later need on the House floor.

McCarthy has also said he would strip Schiff of his position on the House Intelligence Committee and other Democratic representatives from their committee assignments if he becomes speaker.

What he's saying: "Well, I suspect he will do whatever Marjorie Taylor Greene wants him to do," Schiff said when asked about McCarthy promising to take him off the Intel Committee.

"[McCarthy] is a very weak leader of his conference, meaning that he will adhere to the wishes of the lowest common denominator, and if that lowest common denominator wants to remove people from committees, that's what they'll do," he added.

"It's going to be chaos with a Republican leadership. And sadly, the kind of crazy caucus has grown among the Republicans. Many of the Republicans who have won primaries in deeply red districts are coming to Congress, like the Marjorie Taylor Greenes and the [Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)]s."

The big picture: House Democrats, along with 11 Republicans, voted to remove Greene from her committee assignments in Feb. 2021 over her past endorsement of baseless conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric against Democrats, which included antisemitic remarks.

McCarthy has promised to reinstate her committee assignments, and Greene endorsed him for speaker last week, breaking with her far-right allies.

Go deeper: The perils of a narrow House Republican majority

GOP-led House is "going to be chaos:" Rep. Adam Schiff

Kevin McCarthy is "a weak leader of his conference."

Adam Schiff

This Week With George Stephanopoulos-9 18 34 Am - 9 19 02 Am-2022-11-20

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R) blamed former President Trump for Republicans' Senate loss in the midterm elections.

Driving the news: "I was not a never-Trumper," Ryan said on ABC's This Week. "But I am a never-again Trumper. Why? Because I want to win. And we lose with Trump." 

Ryan told ABC's Jonathan Karl that Republicans could have won the Senate "had we had traditional Republicans in the general election." 

"What we now know, it's pretty clear is, with Trump, we lose," he said. "I don't mean this personally — it's just evidence."

"It's palpable right now. We get past Trump, we start winning elections. We stick with Trump, we keep losing elections, that's just how I see it." 

The big picture: Looking ahead to the 2024 election, Ryan said that if Trump wins the nomination, Republicans "likely lose the White House."

"We probably lose the White House with Trump and if there's someone not named Trump, my guess is we win the White House," Ryan said. 

Trump this week announced his 2024 campaign for president. 

"He can get his people to the primaries, but they can't win general elections. It's really clear, I think the Republican voter is going to move on, that's why I don't think he ends up winning the nomination at the end of the day." 

"I think we have a great stable of good, capable conservatives who are more than capable of winning this primary for presidency and winning the election. And I think Republican voters know that."

Go deeper... Paul Ryan: "Anybody not named Trump" can win GOP nomination in 2024

Paul Ryan blames Trump for Republicans' midterm losses

"I was not a never-Trumper," Ryan said. "But I am a never-again Trumper."

Republican Party

Pro Rata

Axios Pro Rata

Closer

Axios Closer

Elon Musk on Saturday reinstated former President Trump's Twitter account, three weeks after acquiring the social media company for $44 billion and shortly after millions of accounts voted in favor (52% of more than 15 million total votes) of the decision through a poll Musk posted Friday night.

In a tweet, Musk said, “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.”

Why it matters: Trump used Twitter as his primary communication tool when running for president, and then while in office.

Trump, twice-impeached and under criminal investigation, launched his 2024 campaign on Tuesday night.

Musk has said permanent bans should be extremely rare (he recently implemented them for users who impersonate others) and that Trump’s suspension was “a mistake” and “foolish.” He announced on Friday that Kathy Griffin, Jordan Peterson and Babylon Bee were reinstated and that a decision hadn't been made yet about Trump's account.

The big picture: Twitter permanently suspended Trump's account two days after the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, in what it said was a response to the "risk of further incitement of violence."

Trump was permanently de-platformed by Facebook one day later, but Facebook later reduced its ban to two years.

Earlier this year, Trump launched a Twitter clone called Truth Social. But the social media platform has struggled with user growth after an initial surge as well as federal investigations into its stalled merger with a blank check acquisition company. 

What they're saying: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday it was a "terrible mistake" to allow Trump back on Twitter, saying the former president used the platform "to incite the attack on the Capitol."

Schiff also said the decision contradicted Musk saying Twitter would create a  "content moderation council" before making any "major content decisions or account reinstatements" on the platform.

"It just underscores the erratic leadership of Twitter now under Musk," Schiff added.

Look ahead: Trump has said he wouldn't use Twitter, if he is reinstated, and he agreed to some restrictions upon forming Truth Social. 

Trump on Truth Social had posted about Musk’s poll saying to “vote with positivity” and ”don’t worry we aren’t going anywhere.”

Dan’s thought bubble: Trump’s deal with Truth Social requires him to post there first, but it also has a giant carve out for “political messaging.” 

Given that he’s now running for President, one could argue almost all his posts would be political massaging.

Musk caps chaotic Week 3 at Twitter with Trump poll

Twitter disarray deepens as Musk ultimatum drives away key workers

Elon Musk: Twitter to deemphasize "negative" tweets

How Mastodon, a favorite Twitter alternative, works

Editor's note: This story has been updated with statements from Rep. Adam Schiff on ABC's "This Week."

Musk reinstates Trump's Twitter account after poll

In a tweet, Musk said, “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.“

Illustration of the Twitter logo growing hair like Donald Trump's, and turning orange.

Twitter

Elon Musk

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Former Vice President Mike Pence told NBC's Meet the Press that "no one is above the law" when asked about former President Trump's role in the Jan. 6 riot. 

Driving the news: "But I would hope the Justice Department would give careful consideration before they take any additional steps in this matter,"  Pence said during the interview airing Sunday. 

Pence criticized the Department of Justice for executing the search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, saying it "sent the wrong message." 

"I put the blame for the decision to execute a search warrant at the personal residence of the former President of the United States on the leadership of the Justice Department," he said. 

"It's inconceivable to me that that wasn't a decision that was made at the very highest levels, and approved at the highest levels." 

"It was a divisive message in this country. But I think worse still, it was the wrong message to the wider world that looks to America as the gold standard," he said. 

"I want to see the credibility of the Justice Department restored after years of politicization during the Trump-Pence administration," he added. 

What he's saying: Pence also said that Trump ahead of Jan. 6 was "repeating ... what he was hearing from that gaggle of attorneys around him."

"I don't know if it is criminal to listen to bad advice from lawyers," Pence said when asked whether Trump committed a criminal act in connection with the Capitol riot. 

The former vice president said during an interview on CBS' Face the Nation that Trump "had decided to be a part of the problem" on Jan. 6.

Pence: FBI search at Mar-a-Lago "sent the wrong message"

"It was a divisive message in this country," he said.

Sunday's politics & policy stories