Good afternoon,

As a bipartisan three-month extension of federal funding was approaching passage, Elon Musk threw a monkey wrench into the works with his hyperbolic fact-free claims about the proposed deal. President-elect Donald Trump took a break from bizarrely calling Canada the 51st state and followed Musk's direction to also oppose the deal.

The Republican house caucus quickly devolved into a circular firing squad and gridlock overtook the chamber as a proposed bill that would raise the debt ceiling for over two years went down to defeat.

Ultimately the original bill passed largely unchanged, aside from the removal of $100 million in funding for pediatric cancer research. A week of unneeded chaos ultimately led to a "big win" for Musk and Trump by ensuring children with cancer don't have additional funding for research for potential cures. What leadership.

The chaos of the past week should chill the claims of the media talking heads that a new Trump is coming to town. If anything, this Trump 2.0 will be even more chaotic as he takes direction from the cadre of billionaires in his administration - and follows the direction of Elon Musk - outside of it. An aging, low-energy Trump will find himself being led into more moments like these while he follows his handlers' instructions to pass an extremist agenda that would destroy Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to pay for more tax handouts to the wealthiest people on the planet.

• The 119th Congress will be sworn in at noon on January 3rd. As the Congress looks to begin its new session, real questions have started to emerge about the viability of Speaker Mike Johnson to stay in the role after losing control of his conference this past week. If even a handful of Republicans defect in the leadership vote Johnson could find himself out of power and the House could be stuck without the ability to govern until a compromise speaker is ultimately elected.

• The 60th Presidential Inauguration will take place on Monday, January 20, 2025.

• The leadership race for the DNC is beginning to take shape with four candidates announced so far. Those include former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wickler, Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, and New York State Senator James Skoufis. As many as 16 candidates have expressed interest in succeeding outgoing Chair Jamie Harrison of South Carolina. The DNC chair election will be held on February 1, 2025.

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