12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here.
It’s Wednesday. The 2026 midterms are 363 days away!
In today’s issue:
• Supreme Court criticizes president’s tariffs
• Trump’s strategy session with senators
• GOP blame game over election losses
• Schumer, Jeffries demand WH meeting
• Democrats clean up across board
🌊 ELECTION 2025
Republicans lick their wounds after rout:
Voters sent a clear message to Washington on Election Day: They want change.
Democrats won decisively in every major race, outperforming polls and sending a powerful rebuke to Republicans.
GOP leaders have begun to grapple with what this means, while recriminations are already flying over why the party’s candidates underperformed.
President Trump met with Senate Republicans at the White House on Wednesday morning. What he said was telling.
“I thought we’d have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented, and what we should do about it,” Trump told the senators. “And also about the shutdown, how that relates to last night. I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans.”
^ CNN’s Sarah Ferris says this quote has been the talk of Capitol Hill Democrats today who do not want to fold to end the shutdown.
The shutdown on Wednesday broke the record for the longest funding lapse in American history, and polling shows Republicans are getting blamed more than Democrats.
Trump once again urged Republicans to kill the Senate filibuster so they can reopen the government with no help from Democrats.
Congressional GOP leaders are uncomfortable about that strategy, as it would open the floodgates for a future Democratic majority making unilateral decisions.
CNN’s Kit Maher, who was the pooler today, noted that Senate GOP Leader John Thune (S.D.) remained expressionless when Trump made that comment. 📸 See Thune’s reaction
Meanwhile, Democrats are feeling emboldened: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) sent a letter to Trump today, demanding a meeting to end the shutdown.
It ends with, “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” a phrase that Trump often uses to end his social media posts. 📸 See the letter
Democrats are feeling exuberant after Tuesday’s election results. At 9 p.m. EST, when the results were trickling in, Jeffries declared, “The Democratic Party is back.”
➤ OTHER NOTABLE REACTIONS:
How MAGA World is responding to Democrats’ big night: Former Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz blamed candidate quality in part for last night’s decisive losses. In particular, he criticized Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears as “horrible.”
“The practice of running boring, weak, inauthentic Republicans who resemble those from the Bush Era rather than Trump/MAGA needs to end,” Bruesewitz argued.
Steve Bannon is concerned: Trump’s top ally and former adviser says “warning signs are flashing” ahead of the 2026 midterms. 📹 Watch Bannon’s immediate reaction to the election results
But Vice President Vance thinks the reaction is overblown: “I think it’s idiotic to overreact to a couple of elections in blue states,” Vance posted, laying out his own takeaways.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) changed his cover photo: His X cover photo is 📸a big blue wave.
Democrats cleaned up:
🔵 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and will become New York City’s next mayor — the first Muslim to lead the city.
🔵 Virginia voters elected Democrat Abigail Spanberger as their next governor by double digits, flipping the governor’s mansion from red to blue. She will also be the state’s first female governor (!).
🔵 New Jersey voters elected Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill as the Garden State’s next governor in a landslide. Polls previously suggested the race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli would be close, but it wasn’t.
^ Fun fact, Spanberger and Sherrill were roommates in Washington six years ago. Now, they’re both governors.
🔵 And California voters approved a redistricting effort that may give Democrats the opportunity to pick up four or five more seats next year.
🔵 Oh, and in Georgia, Democrats flipped two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission. This marks the first time in more than two decades that Democrats have won a Public Service Commission race, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Mamdani’s win, in particular, is a big deal:
Love him or hate him, Zohran Mamdani pulled off a meaningful win, toppling a New York dynasty and ushering in a new vision and generation of the Democratic Party. He has quickly become a progressive icon for the left and the new Democratic bogeyman for the right.
As a self-described democratic socialist, he focused his campaign on affordability for the city. Specifically, he wants to freeze rents, make buses free for riders and establish city-owned grocery stores.
Now, the big question is: Can he deliver on his vision? And will New Yorkers like the results if he does? The word socialism has long been considered a derogatory insult to criticize political rivals, but Mamdani has embraced the label. If he is successful in his goals, this could transform the Democratic Party. But if he’s not able to deliver on his message — or it brings unwanted effects — that will be equally powerful.
On his transition team: Mamdani appointed former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan to his transition team.
Side note: I haven’t been able to get the Mamdani remix of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” out of my head. It’s all over social media. “The name is Mamdani, M-A-M-D-A-N-I.” 🎵Here it is if you haven’t heard it
➤ MORE READS:
The Wall Street Journal: Wall Street Couldn’t Stop Mayor Mamdani. Now It Has to Work With Him.
The Atlantic: The Anti-MAGA Majority Reemerges
The Washington Post: Centrist or progressive? Democrats face battle over who defines party.
RealClearPolitics: Can Republicans Learn To Win Without Trump on the Ballot?
🏛️ OTHER NEWS
Trump’s tariffs face critical test:
The Supreme Court is hearing a case today on the legality of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs — and so far, it hasn’t gone well for his administration.
The Trump administration has justified its tariff powers by pointing to emergency powers. Well, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested today that Trump’s justification for the tariffs could mean the president could ignore Congress entirely.
Ouch: “Congress as a practical matter can’t get this power back once it’s handed it over,” Gorsuch said. “The president is a one-way ratchet to the gradual but continual excretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people’s elected representatives.”
💻 Listen to the Supreme Court case live
🔎Read Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee’s explainer on the case
Tidbit: Schonfeld 📸posted a photo outside the Supreme Court last night. There was already one person standing in the public line.
How awful:
At least nine people were killed when a UPS plane crashed and exploded at an airport in Louisville, Ky., on Tuesday. Eleven people have been injured.
What happened? From AP: “Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney, said that based on videos of the crash the aircraft appeared to be struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines. Given the fuel the plane was carrying, it was only a matter of time before the blaze spread rapidly or an explosion happened.”
“Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The plane then lifted slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in flames. Video showed portions of a building’s shredded roof next to the end of the runway.”
COMING UP
The House is out. (Remember the House?) The Senate is in. President Trump is in Miami this afternoon. (All times EST)
Noon: Trump lands in Miami.
1 p.m. Trump speaks at the America Business Forum.
2:40 p.m. Trump leaves Miami and flies back to the White House, arriving around 5 p.m.
6 p.m. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) will appear on “The Hill on NewsNation.”
INTERNET BUZZ
🍩 Celebrate: Today is National Donut Day!
📰 Wow, go journalism!!: The New York Times added 460,000 digital subscribers in just the third quarter of this year.
AND FINALLY
To briefly pull you out of the chaos of the real world, let’s step back to watch this dog excel at his craft: begging for a bagel.
