Patel’s Warm Senate Welcome Reflects The G.o.p.’s Turn Against The F.b.i. - The New York Times

“Top aides and people close to Kamala Harris have divided over whether she should head home to run for California governor in 2026 — and it all comes down to whether they believe she could win the Democratic nomination for president in an expected competitive primary in 2028,” CNN reports. “Some believe a repeat run, after quickly improving her reputation and raising more than $1 billion over her surprise 100-day race, should be hers for the taking.

The American public is closely divided on the outlook for Donald Trump’s second term, a new CNN poll finds, with 52% of adults expressing positive feelings, and 48% responding negatively.

Ed Kilgore: “Unlike in his first term, Donald Trump seems determined to hit the ground running when he takes office again on January 20, 2025. He clearly believes his narrow win over Kamala Harris and the congressional trifecta the Republican Party won by the smallest possible margin give him an unconditional popular mandate to do whatever he wants.

“President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would appoint Devin Nunes, a former member of Congress who had used his role as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee to try to delegitimize the Trump-Russia investigation, to head an independent advisory board on espionage policy,” the New York Times reports. “The organization — the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board — dates back to the early Cold War and consists of private citizens with top-level security clearances who are supposed to help the White House analyze spy agency effectiveness and planning.

“A handful of top U. S. universities are urging international students who travel home for winter break to be back in the country before President-elect Trump takes office,” Axios reports. “Trump has vowed to crack down on both illegal and legal immigration, and school leaders are worried one of his first actions could be an executive order limiting entrance to the U.

“House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) underwent a hip replacement after falling during a congressional trip to Luxembourg,” Axios reports. “The 84-year-old former speaker fell on Friday and sustained a serious injury to her hip, for which she was hospitalized.”