📝 The Readback: Jim Justice raises alarm over Tennessee special

IN THIS EDITION

Justice sounds off on Tennessee 7th

What Congress is thankful for (in economic policy)

Putting the House in Townhouse

Congress, celebs, chips and clashes

THE TOP

Justice sounds off on Tennessee 7th

Welcome to The Readback, our weekend digest featuring the best of Punchbowl News this week – a quick roundup of all our scoops, analysis and Capitol Hill insight you won’t find anywhere else. We’ve also included a few of our favorite outside reads from the week.

This week, the political world turned its attention to a safe-red seat in Tennessee for a special election in the state’s 7th District. Republican Matt Van Epps ended up winning, but that’s not the big story.

Instead, let’s focus on how the GOP reacted to the nine-point win in a district that President Donald Trump won by 22 points just last fall. In short, Republicans are worried.

Publicly, most Republicans stuck to the party-line message that the only thing that mattered was holding the seat (which was vacated due to former GOP Rep. Mark Green’s resignation).

But the fact that millions of dollars had to be spent in a heavily Republican area, only for the GOP candidate to run 13 points behind Trump, isn’t ideal for the party.

Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) is one of the few sitting Republican senators who is willing to raise alarm publicly.

Justice is a fascinating figure in the Senate. A former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party while in office as West Virginia governor, he succeeded former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) in the Senate.

Justice is seen as a straight shooter who understands both the Trump movement but also what it takes to win elections.

After the 2025 gubernatorial elections last month, Justice sounded the alarm following the GOP’s defeats.

“A lot of people are hurting and the Republicans can’t let that just pass them,” Justice said at the time. “Last night was an awakening for a lot of folks, and if we didn’t pick up on it then, then we’re not gonna pick it up.”

Justice added that if Republicans “gloss over” the growing economic hardship facing Americans, “it’ll be a bad day in the midterm.”

Fast forward to this week and Justice had similar warnings for Republicans after the Tennessee special.

“We’ve got to realize that there’s too many indicators that the midterms are coming and we should all be concerned for the Republican side,” Justice said.

Republicans worry that an electorate unhappy over rising costs will blame them, given that the party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress. Midterms are always rough for the party in power. With a stuttering economy and increasing disapproval of Trump’s job in office, those traditional headwinds could be exacerbated.

But it’s also important to note that we are a long way out from November 2026. The attention span of the American public is minuscule. Who knows what the environment will be 11 months from now? We’ll be tracking it every step of the way, that’s for sure.

What I’m reading: I’m over 100 pages into “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. There are tons of separate storylines happening right now and I can’t wait to see how they all connect.

– Max Cohen

You can find The Readback in your inbox every Saturday at 8 a.m. And don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected] with feedback. Enjoy The Readback.

What Congress is thankful for (in economic policy)

The U.S. economy is at a weird crossroads. The labor market continues to look shaky, and interest rate expectations have been all over the map.

But this season was for taking stock and giving thanks! And Washington has certainly been busy this year. With that in mind, we asked some lawmakers what they were thankful for this year in economic policy.

Big picture. Few congressional panels have had as much legislative success this year as the Senate Banking Committee. In a statement, Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) cheered “the new family I get to celebrate Thanksgiving with” and said he remained committed to advancing housing legislation.

“My focus on homeownership as chair has everything to do with the blessing of the American dream and helping single moms, like the one who raised me, become homeowners before the age of 38, as she did,” Scott said.

Some Democrats had to look away from Capitol Hill to find something to be grateful for. “I’m thankful for Jerome Powell,” Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) said, referring to the chair of the Federal Reserve. “I think it’s important for a society that you have a person like him who can stand up to all the pressure he’s received.”

Thx 4 the tax changes. As controversial and difficult to sell as the GOP reconciliation effort has been, multiple lawmakers pointed to wins tucked inside the mega bill.

Among Republicans, some of the hits will not surprise you.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of work ahead,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said. “But I’m very happy we were able to get the tax bill done earlier in the year, especially lifting the cap on [state and local taxes], which is a big win for New York.”

Some Democrats can squint and see some OBBB wins, too — though they maintain the broader effort was a towering loss for Americans around the country.

“I’ll tell you what,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said. “Buried deep inside a catastrophic bill, the One Big Bad Bill, was an expansion of low-income housing tax credits. That’s a really good thing, because we have a housing crisis.”

What I’m reading: At the recommendation of fellow Civil War history buff and Punchbowl News reporter Ally Mutnick, I’ve finally started reading “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

The book starts as a series of mini-biographies — former U.S. Attorney General Edward Bates, Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of State William H. Seward and obviously President Abraham Lincoln — and intertwines their backgrounds into a fascinating account of how the former president steered the nation through the Civil War. I’m about 200 pages in, and my hold is about to run out at the library, which is a bummer. But! Probably better to wait until after year-end dealmaking is over.

— Brendan Pedersen

Putting the House in Townhouse

Just a very short walk from the Capitol dome sits our Punchbowl News Townhouse. The space was once our main office, and it is now the heartbeat of Fly Out Day.

Washington’s biggest stories unfold just steps away, and when we set out to create Fly Out Day, I wanted the townhouse, where we built our studio, to feel like a character in the show.

It’s why we start each episode with a shot of our guest ringing the doorbell. They were likely in a hearing or on the House or Senate floor just moments before making the two-block trek. The way we utilize the townhouse for the show is creative and designed for the absolute best experience for our guests and talented reporters who come on our show.

We transformed the second floor into our own living room studio. It’s a cozy space and intended to foster a conversational tone with our newsmakers and reporter panelists. The chairs are comfortable, the microphones are in the ceiling so you don’t have to deal with the hassle of getting mic’d up, and the cameras are out of the way so you don’t feel like you’re being recorded.

While the lawmaker or administration official is on set talking with Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer, the reporter panelists are just across the hallway on the same floor in the Pink Room, our take on the traditional green room. They watch the interview happen live on a big screen while sipping (or chugging) coffee, getting ready to react to the interview right when it is over. After the main interview, the reporters join our hosts on set while the brilliant Max Cohen interviews the lawmaker in a more casual setting.

At Punchbowl News, we are all about the Capitol Hill community. One of my favorite ways in which we foster that community is by bringing folks together in the townhouse for community events. For example, we recently hosted a pizza party for overworked and unpaid staffers during the shutdown.

We are excited to bring you two more episodes of Fly Out Day in 2025 and then continue the townhouse fun in 2026!

Care for a little sneak peek of next week’s Fly Out Day? We are very excited for our big defense vertical launch and will be focusing on defense with a newsy guest and an all-star panel next week. Be sure to tune in!

What I’m watching: I just watched the first few episodes of “All Her Fault” on Peacock and I am intrigued! Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning are excellent in the thriller so far. There hasn’t been much time for TV lately, but as the snow falls here in Washington, I can’t wait to make some tea and watch more.

– Haley Talbot

Congress, celebs, chips and clashes

Few reporters would confuse writing about Hill policy with celebrity journalism or for the cops beat. On Wednesday, though, they somehow all collided for me.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was visiting the Capitol in the midst of battles over exports of his firm’s advanced chips to China. (So far, he’s winning them.)

In the morning, I’d seen Huang after a meeting in Speaker Mike Johnson’s suite. Hill staffers, who by definition work for bigwigs, were nonetheless excitedly pointing as Huang strode by.

Two even followed his entourage. They snapped pics and asked a news photographer, who they thought might have captured an image of them gawking behind the CEO, how to download his work for keepsakes.

Later, Huang entered a meeting with Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee. Before he went in, Huang talked with a group of reporters from far beyond the clique of regular congressional correspondents. He faced shouted questions — and at least one TV camera streaming live.

(You’ll note my colleague, Diego Munhoz, asking smart questions throughout in this CNBC clip of the Q&A and me sneaking in late at around 3:50.)

It wasn’t just press, though. As the gaggle broke up, I saw two men ask Huang for an autograph. I turned away briefly but then heard a commotion.

When I looked back, a very angry news photographer was challenging the men. The photographer was advancing on the autograph-seekers, glaring at one of them, telling the man he was going to be arrested.

Why? Well, according to a summary from the Capitol Police, the photographer later formally alleged the man had hit him twice, including “in the back with a closed fist.”

I also overheard a Hill staffer tell Capitol Police that the men had claimed to be journalists but were unable to identify who they were reporting for.

It was a jarring moment, especially after I’d seen a shouting match while reporting at the White House in October.

Reporters are competitive and vigorous in truth-seeking. But even in busy scrums, even when lawmakers greet the public, 99% of the work I see is respectful, professional and safe.

I’m pretty glad I’m not on one of the beats where that’s less true.

What I’m listening to: A lot of music from the 1940s and before, apparently. I like a little jazz or classical music with dinner, so my Spotify Wrapped said my listening age was a whopping 85 years old. Keep it down, young whippersnappers!

– Ben Brody