1. ROCKING THE BOAT: Trump is set to meet with his national security team in the Oval Office at 5 p.m. to discuss next steps on Venezuela as the U.S. ramps up “Operation Southern Spear” with warships and troops in the Caribbean, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Alayna Treene report. This sitdown comes as lawmakers warn that recent U.S. strikes on alleged drug vessels may amount to a “war crime.” 2. RED LIGHT REDISTRICT: Indiana House Republicans released a draft congressional map that could flip two Democratic seats held by Reps. Frank Mrvan and André Carson to Republicans, splitting Indianapolis across four districts, POLITICO’s Andrew Howard and Adam Wren report. “The map’s fate in the state Senate, where President Pro Tem Rodric Bray remains opposed, is still uncertain. The White House and other outside groups continue to ramp up pressure on lawmakers resistant to redistricting, and one even faced threats of a pipe bomb over the weekend. Republicans who oppose redrawing have said its best to focus the GOP’s energy on flipping a district outright instead of changing the playing field.” 3. TRAIL MIX: Trump this morning called into a Tennessee rally through Speaker Mike Johnson’s speaker phone and urged a “sweeping victory” for Republican Matt Van Epps ahead of tomorrow’s special election for the 7th Congressional District. “The whole world is watching Tennessee right now,” Trump said, per The Hill’s Julia Manchester. Trump is set to join a tele-rally later this evening. Carolina in my mind: Rep. Don Davis, one of the most vulnerable incumbent Democrats in Congress, will run for reelection in North Carolina’s 1st District, despite the seat shifting heavily toward Republicans after a GOP gerrymander, per Punchbowl. “Trump won the current configuration of the 1st District by three points. Under the new map, Trump carried the district by 11 points. Davis’ decision to run again in the 1st District avoids a member-on-member clash with Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) in the 3rd District.” The trouble in South Carolina: One of Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C.) top gubernatorial campaign advisers, J. Austin McCubbin, resigned today. In a lengthy post on X, he wrote that “Mace has yet again decided to turn her back on MAGA to hug the political cactus that is the Rand Paul + Thomas Massie wing of the Party. … I am 100% breaking with her campaign out of loyalty to the President.” He also calls on Trump to withdraw his support for her, saying, “scratch her name from the list.” Georgia on my mind: “How the Dismissed 2020 Election Case in Georgia Could Shape the Midterms,” by NYT’s Danny Hakim and Richard Fausset: “Several officials who were involved in the fight over the election outcome are seeking higher office.” 4. WAR AND PEACE: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Trump today and discussed the need for “disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and expanding the peace agreements,” Netanyahu’s office said in a post on X. Trump also invited Netanyahu to the White House for a meeting soon. Ukraine latest: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris today as U.S.-led peace negotiations gather momentum, with European leaders pushing for a “fair and lasting peace” and stronger security guarantees for Kyiv, AP’s Sylvie Corbet reports. “We had a very productive discussion on key priorities with our European friends,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “We share the view that the war must be brought to a fair end.” Zelenskyy is set to travel to Ireland for additional meetings, NYT’s Cassandra Vinograd reports. Trump’s peace push will also head to Moscow tomorrow, with special envoy Steve Witkoff set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin after what the U.S. called “very productive” talks with Ukraine, NBC’s Yuliya Talmazan reports. Kyiv says there are still “tough issues” to hammer out before any deal comes together. Ukraine is also seeking more funding from Europe to acquire U.S. weapons, including F-16 fighter jets and air defenses, per Bloomberg’s Andrea Palasciano. 5. STAYING ON MESSAGE: “Soon to lead Virginia, Spanberger talks Trump, economy, hard choices,” by WaPo’s Gregory Schneider: “‘I will be governor during a time when we will have to make some harder choices,’ [Gov.-elect Abigail] Spanberger said recently in an interview with The Washington Post that suggested she is taking a cautious approach to the mandate that comes after her resounding, 15-point electoral victory. … In a discussion that ranged from housing policy to New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and the texting scandal that shadowed Virginia Attorney General-elect Jay Jones, Spanberger made clear she’s sticking with the centrist, kitchen-table focus that drove her campaign.” 6. ON THE HILL: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a new Dear Colleague letter this morning that House Democrats are introducing a discharge petition for an up-or-down vote on a three-year extension of the ACA credits. Meanwhile, Republicans’ challenge to find a path forward to address the cliff is echoing a pattern from Trump’s first term, WaPo’s Dan Diamond and colleagues write, when the GOP promised but didn’t deliver a unified answer on health care. “Those stumbles haunted GOP leaders as they suffered election defeats in 2018 and 2020, and Democrats are preparing to run a similar health care playbook next year.” In the back of members’ minds: They’re dealing with increased personal security threats, with top Democrats in the House now lobbying Republicans to allow their offices to employ an armed staff member to go with them to their districts, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller scoops. “Their push, which includes other priorities, comes as lawmakers gain access to a new $20,000 monthly personal security allowance starting Monday.”
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