The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

How Democrats are cleaning up their House

A big day for Trump’s noms

The Vault: Treasury nom Bessent to start making Senate rounds

GOP leaders rebuff attempts to bypass FBI background check for Cabinet noms

THE TOP

How Democrats are cleaning up their House

Happy Tuesday morning.

Just two years ago, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn announced they would step away from the House Democratic leadership after more than a decade-and-a-half in charge.

Over the summer, restive Democrats forced the then 81-year-old Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race after a cringe-worthy debate performance.

And now, the House Democratic Caucus is moving to purge some of its most veteran lawmakers from key committee positions, another step in a years-long, slow-motion remake of an aging party on Capitol Hill.

This is perhaps the most surprising result of a disappointing election cycle for House Democrats. After one of the least productive Congresses in history, Democrats were hoping to win a majority on Election Day. While they may end up netting two seats, President-elect Donald Trump led the GOP to total control of Washington in January. That crushing blow has forced the House Democratic Caucus to look at who it will rely on to counter Trump’s much-anticipated — and for them, dreaded — return.

The 61-year-old Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is challenging the 77-year-old Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) for the party’s top slot on the House Judiciary Committee. Democrats plainly want a more combative figure to go toe-to-toe with the panel’s chair, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a top Trump ally, in fights over immigration, abortion and other key issues. Raskin’s potential departure could also set off a shuffle in the Oversight panel to replace him.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) dropped his bid to remain the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, paving the way for Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat 16 years his junior, to move up. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M., 45, is also taking a “serious look” at running, an aide told us. Grijalva has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has spent long periods absent from Capitol Hill.

Two Democrats — Reps. Jim Costa (Calif.) and Angie Craig (Minn.) — are both seeking to oust Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) from the party’s top slot on the House Agriculture Committee. Democrats have long griped about the ailing 79-year-old Scott’s ability to lead the panel. Some Democrats are concerned over whether Scott may ever return to Capitol Hill.

Here’s the thing to remember: Challenges like this don’t happen spontaneously, especially in the seniority-obsessed House Democratic Caucus.

These shots at the top of the committee structure only come after a tacit nod from the House Democratic leadership. Sources close to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar have said that the caucus is to “work its will” in selecting ranking members.

In other words, the Democratic leadership is providing absolutely no cover to its lawmakers in top committee slots.

For all of its perceived strengths — gender, racial and ethnic diversity — House Democrats have a huge structural inefficiency. Unlike Republicans, who turn over their committee chairs or ranking members every six years, Democrats don’t have term limits. Some senior House Democrats remain atop their panels for years or even decades.

Ponder this list for a moment:

– Rep. Nydia Velázquez of New York has led the Small Business Committee as chair or ranking member for 26 years.

– Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi has been the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee for 19 years.

– Rep. Adam Smith of Washington State has been atop the Armed Services Committee for 13 years.

– Rep. Maxine Waters of California has served as the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee for 11 years.

– Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey has led Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee for nine years.

– Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia has been the top Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee for nine years.

This isn’t an accident. Several of the factions inside the broader Democratic Caucus — especially the powerful Congressional Black Caucus — prioritize committee assignments and seniority, arguing it benefits minority lawmakers in particular. Yet the other side of the seniority coin is that it can allow members to stay in power too long.

House Democrats will likely begin to sort out some of their committee changes this week. The Steering and Policy Committee is expected to organize during the next few days and then ratify its picks for the “exclusive” panels — Appropriations, Energy and Commerce, Financial Services and Ways and Means. The contested committee posts will be voted on next week and then go before the full caucus.

Across the aisle, the House Republican Steering Committee is poised to consider Rep. Sam Graves’ (R-Mo.) request to circumvent the six-year term limit to stay on as the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for another two years. The steering committee is likely to reject the request.

— Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

Correction: We wrote in our PM edition on Monday that Raskin hadn’t served on Oversight before ascending to ranking member. However, Raskin was, in fact, a subcommittee chair over Oversight when he ran for ranking member.

HAPPENING TODAY AT 9 A.M. ET: Join us in-person for a conversation with Sens.-elect John Curtis (R-Utah) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.). We’re discussing the news of the day and bipartisanship in the lame-duck session and the new Congress. RSVP now!

NOMINATION WATCH

A big day for Trump’s noms

The past week brought a barrage of negative stories about some of President-elect Donald Trump’s most important Cabinet picks, especially Pete Hegseth, who has been tapped to run the Pentagon.

Yet Senate Republicans, fearful of alienating Trump, aren’t looking to derail these nominations — like they did to former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Hegseth, attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and U.N. ambassador nominee Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), made the rounds on Capitol Hill on Monday. Reporters shouted questions at Hegseth about his alcohol use and alleged sexual misconduct. Republican senators faced a barrage of questions about Kash Patel, Trump’s hugely controversial pick to lead the FBI, and what it means for the nation’s top law enforcement agency.

But despite all the outside buzz, even moderate Republicans are showing a willingness to support these nominations — or at least entertain them. And unlike Gaetz, who Senate Republicans knew and disliked, there’s no sign yet of a brewing effort to kill these nominations behind the scenes.

Between concerns about angering Trump and what that could mean for their new majority, GOP senators are treading very carefully.

“I’m going to be meeting with [Hegseth] tomorrow, so I’m sure I’ll be asking him questions along those lines,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told us Monday night when asked about Hegseth’s mother calling him an “abuser” in an email. “So we’ll see how I feel after that.”

Hegseth also has meetings scheduled today with Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), among others.

For Hegseth and Patel, shoring up GOP support is critical because the expectation is that they won’t have any Democratic support. This means they can’t lose more than three Republicans. So far, the initial signs are positive despite both nominees’ serious baggage.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who’s up for reelection in 2026, said Patel has “baseline” qualifications for the FBI job, adding he has a “presumptive positive position” on Patel. Tillis also seemed to cast doubt on the idea that Patel would carry out some of the more radical reforms to the FBI that Patel himself has proposed.

“A lot of what we’ve examined since he was first being talked about is more of a political positioning,” Tillis said. “Everybody says what they want to say about him seeking retribution … I just don’t see it.”

Senate GOP leaders also didn’t voice any objections Monday to Trump’s desire to replace Christopher Wray atop the FBI even though his term doesn’t expire until 2027. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune noted that Wray “was the Trump nominee last time around” and shrugged off complaints about Trump ousting his second FBI director. Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.

“My job is to make sure that the nominees have a thorough, fair process. And ultimately our members are going to decide,” Thune added.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), no fan of Trump, said he didn’t have an issue with the fact that Trump is prepared to sack Wray to make way for Patel.

“It’s not illegal. So that’s not going to be a hang-up,” Young said. “The most important thing is, are we going to have a competent head of the FBI to carry out the important mission it has? So I need to learn more about the background of the nominee.”

— Andrew Desiderio, John Bresnahan and Max Cohen

The Vault: Treasury nom Bessent to start making Senate rounds

Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent is set up for a smoother ride in the Senate than some of President-elect Donald Trump’s fellow Cabinet picks. But the billionaire hedge fund manager has floated some policy ideas that could draw senators’ attention as he works his way through the nomination process.

That process is starting quickly. Bessent will begin his Capitol Hill meetings Wednesday, when he’ll sit down with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and incoming Majority Whip John Barrasso.

The Senate Finance Committee typically holds nomination hearings for Treasury secretary quickly, even before the new president is sworn in. Without much tension around the Bessent pick, several GOP senators on the panel mentioned pretty straightforward Republican priorities they want to talk about in the hearing.

But ideas Bessent has discussed for the Federal Reserve and Trump’s own bigtime tariff goals aren’t likely to go over smoothly among all Senate Republicans.

Fed watch: We expect some Republican senators to have questions about central bank independence. Bessent suggested having a “shadow” chair of the Federal Reserve who could signal Trump’s monetary policy preference before current Chair Jay Powell’s term expires in 2026.

“We’ll want to know what the plan is, what the thought is on that,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said when we asked about Bessent’s Fed comments.

Other lawmakers emphasized the need for Fed independence in the first place.

“I’m not for anything that’s going to hurt the independence of the Fed,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) added he doesn’t think there should be “a political link or dimension to the Fed” when we asked about what Bessent has floated, though Tillis also made clear he’s “very pleased” with the Treasury pick.

We asked Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) about Bessent’s comments, and Crapo said our question was “the very first I’ve heard about it, so I’m just going to have to pass on commenting on it right now.” But Crapo did voice his support for Fed independence too.

Crapo — who also noted his support for Bessent’s nomination — said he wouldn’t be surprised if tariffs are a topic at Finance’s hearing for the Treasury pick as well, though he said it likely won’t be how he uses his time with Bessent.

Personnel news: Bessent’s Capitol Hill sherpa is Brad Bailey. Bailey worked in legislative affairs for Treasury during the Trump administration. Currently, Bailey works at KKR, the investment giant.

Raj Shah is handling communications for Bessent’s nomination. Shah worked in the communications operation of Trump’s first White House. More recently, he was the deputy chief of staff to Speaker Mike Johnson.

– Laura Weiss, Brendan Pedersen and Jake Sherman

THE TRANSITION

GOP leaders rebuff attempts to bypass FBI background check for Cabinet noms

Top Republicans said Monday that all of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees should go through a customary FBI background check even as the Trump transition team seeks to bypass that process.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hopes the impasse gets worked out, adding that an FBI background check is the “best” way to thoroughly vet any nominee.

“At this point, I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to be resolved,” Thune told reporters. “But I think the [transition] understands there’s got to be a thorough vetting of all these [nominees]. Historically, the best place to get that done has been through the FBI.”

The incoming GOP committee chairs, Thune added, “will want to make sure that they’ve got the background they need to carefully evaluate these nominees.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who will chair the Armed Services Committee next year, said he believes the impasse “is about to be resolved,” perhaps within the next day or so, but he didn’t elaborate.

Wicker said his “preference is that we honor the precedent that has been in place since the Eisenhower administration” regarding the FBI vetting of nominees. Wicker’s panel will process Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as defense secretary. Hegseth faces allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse.

The Trump team’s posture on this issue is a nod to the president-elect’s long-held skepticism of the FBI and its ability to conduct a fair background check. But Senate Republicans are making clear that this shouldn’t obviate what is a routine step for high-level nominations.

— Andrew Desiderio and Max Cohen

THE MONEY GAME

Is it already holiday party season? Why yes, it is. Both Elect Democratic Women PAC and BOLD PAC are hosting their holiday party fundraisers this week. Elect Democratic Women PAC has its party on Wednesday night. Tickets range from $500 for “public sector” workers to $5,000 for PACs. BOLD PAC’s holiday party is Thursday night.

– Jake Sherman

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