On The White House: After Balmy Hawaii, Chilly Washington

Playbook: “Her tropical interlude hasn’t been entirely about R&R. Harris has spent a lot of time on the phone since her loss to Donald Trump three weeks ago tomorrow. And she has given all of the allies she has spoken to the same message: ‘I am staying in the fight.’” “The question she faces is: In what capacity does she plan to do her fighting?” “Put simply, Harris has two possible tracks should she wish to stake a place at the highest level of Democratic politics: (1) position herself for a 2028 presidential run or (2) pursue a run for California governor in 2026.” NPR: After Harris’ loss, black female political organizers are unsure what to do next.

Dan Balz: “Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy have huge ambitions and no humility about what they are undertaking. What they have talked about amounts to a wholesale attack on federal agencies designed to eliminate thousands of regulations, reduce the federal workforce by an order of magnitude that could cripple the delivery of vital services, and effect cost savings that would amount to nearly one-third of the federal budget, or the entire discretionary part of the budget and then some.” “All government bureaucracies need occasional overhaul and rejuvenation.

Politico: “Thousands of industry donors poured over $425 million into the general election this year, mostly backing the Republican Party and its pledges to repeal regulations and cut taxes.” “Industries like agriculture and defense came out ahead with nearly all their backed candidates winning.”

Ankush Khardori: “There has been speculation in Washington for months about whether Biden will pardon his son. The question raises a host of considerations — legal, political, practical and historic — that cannot be easily disentangled or reconciled. But, in the end, should he do it?” “Particularly in the wake of Trump’s victory, Biden is on strong ground — at a minimum — to commute any sentence of imprisonment for his son Hunter before he leaves office.

Politico: “Russian tanks may not be rolling into Poland or Estonia, but Moscow’s aggression is getting harder to dismiss… While some governments — especially in Nordic and Baltic countries — have tried to raise the alarm, the collective response from the EU and NATO has so far been notably tame.”

“The Biden administration plans to reduce Intel’s preliminary $8.5 billion federal CHIPS grant, a move that follows the California-based company’s investment delays and broader business struggles,” the New York Times reports. “Intel, the biggest recipient of money under the CHIPS Act, will see its funding drop to less than $8 billion from the $8.5 billion that was announced earlier this year.” Semafor: Biden administration rushes to distribute final chips program funding.