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They're a year off, but the specter of the 2022 midterm elections already looms large in Washington, casting a shadow over the current negotiations in Congress. The newest development? A pair of longtime House Democrats— Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle and North Carolina Rep. David Price—announced their retirements yesterday. Doyle and Price are the latest in a string of Democratic departures that have left some in the party anxiously bracing for more ahead of what could be a brutal midterm.

• — Senior Democrats are downplaying it. Democrats in leadership say both Price and Doyle had been privately forecasting their retirement plans to close colleagues for several months, and are in solidly blue districts—at least prior to redistricting. But the loss of the two longtime members, both deans of their respective state delegations, comes as the House Democratic Caucus faces the potential for significant turnover next year.
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• — Redistricting is key. With the Democrats losing several other members to retirement—Reps. Filemón Vela of Texas, Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, Cheri Bustos of Illinois, and Ron Kind of Wisconsin—as well as Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, who is running for the Senate, there's an opening for the National Republican Congressional Committee to compete for open seats. Republican control of this year's decennial redistricting process in a number of critical states could boost their prospects as well.
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• — What about the lady of the House? As for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had previously signaled that this would be her last term, she is keeping mum on her plans. It is widely expected that when she does retire, her longtime deputies—House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn—will step down as well. The departure of the leadership trio would be a seismic shift for the caucus, which has been led by Pelosi and her team for much of the last two decades. —Politico

Huq: Stopping a legal quagmire

"Even if Trump's constitutional claim of executive privilege over those [Jan. 6-related] papers completely fails—and it's legally tenuous, at best—simply filing a lawsuit could delay things long enough to knock any disclosure into 2022 or beyond. By the time of any resolution, the Democrats may have lost Congress, and the matter could simply vanish. That means the select committee and the White House must think creatively—and do so now—to ensure they get full access to the information they need. Fortunately, there are at least two paths to this end: one running via the courts, and the other through Joe Biden's office. Either approach will ensure Trump can't use the legal process strategically to thwart the rule of law and will steer the probe away from the morass that so often dooms congressional oversight." —Aziz Huq in Politico

Aziz Huq teaches law at the University of Chicago and is the author of "How to Save a Constitutional Democracy," to be published in December.

MORE: Trump sues U.S. House committee investigating Jan. 6 attack on Capitol —Reuters

Congressman faces indictment

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, who is under investigation by the FBI, informed his supporters today that he expects to be indicted on allegations that he lied to federal investigators. Fortenberry was one of a number of congressional Republicans who received what authorities said were illegal contributions from a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire in 2016. FBI agents approached him in 2019 to ask about the donations, and he sat for multiple interviews. "I feel so personally betrayed. I thought we were trying to help," Fortenberry said of his conversations with investigators. He insists he did not lie and will fight any charges, which his campaign has called a "political attack." Fortenberry is soliciting funds for his legal defense. —Axios

Afghanistan probes underway

The State Department's inspector general is launching a series of investigations into the chaotic end of operations in Afghanistan. The reviews by the internal watchdog will focus on the department's Special Immigrant Visa program; Afghans processed for refugee admission into the U.S.; resettlement of those refugees and visa recipients; and the emergency evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. The Pentagon's inspector general is also conducting reviews related to the evacuation—an evaluation of the botched drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians; a review of the Defense Department's screening process for displaced Afghans; and an audit of Pentagon support for the relocation of Afghan nationals. It's possible other agencies' and departments' watchdog units also will probe exactly what happened in the last days of America's longest war. Stay tuned. —Politico

Rachman: Biden's two-front war for democracy 

"At home, the president faces the threat of a Republican Party that is still in thrall to Donald Trump—the first president in U.S. history to refuse to accept defeat in an election. Overseas, he faces the challenge of a rising China—which Biden has framed as part of a larger struggle between democracy and autocracy that will define the 21st century. In theory, these two battles are complementary. … In practice, however, the two battles for democracy create contradictory pressures. Biden's domestic situation means he is fighting the global battle for democracy with one hand tied behind his back. The Biden team knows that there is no point winning the fight in Taipei or Kabul if you lose it in Washington. So the fight for democracy at home must come first." —Gideon Rachman in Financial Times

Gideon Rachman is the chief foreign affairs commentator at Financial Times.

MORE: Global opinion of U.S. bounces back after historic lows under Trump —Forbes

Focus on police reform

Bipartisan police reform negotiations may have ended in the Senate last month without a deal, but according to President Biden, it's still a legislative priority. "We expect you to be everything," Biden said at a speech in front of the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, mourning 491 law enforcement officers who were killed or died in the line of duty in 2019 and 2020. "And it's beyond the capacity of anyone to meet the total expectations." Biden has been a loyal ally to law enforcement, since he crafted a 1994 crime bill with their help. But his support for broad reforms following the 2020 murder of George Floyd created some tension with police groups. The president told the gathering he would work to get police departments the support and funding they need. "We haven't gotten there," he said, but "must" do so. —Yahoo! News

• — Hogan has a plan for that. But Biden might not approve. Local and state police departments in Maryland will receive a dramatic increase in funding under a plan by Gov. Larry Hogan, which he has dubbed his "re-fund the police initiative." Hogan, who has criticized efforts to divert some funding from law enforcement to social services, education, or community programs, said the "unconscionable actions of a few" officers has led to an "all-out assault on the entire law enforcement community." He plans to boost policing efforts by $150 million over the next year, including $120 million to local and state agencies to help pay for salary increases, bonuses, body cameras, and training. —The Washington Post
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• — In other policing news… The family of Elijah McClain has reached a settlement agreement with the city of Aurora, Colorado. McClain died in August 2019, when he was stopped by Aurora police while walking home from a store, was placed in a carotid hold, and then injected with ketamine. Prosecutors initially declined to bring criminal charges due to a lack of evidence. Gov. Jared Polis announced a reexamination of the case last year, and a Colorado grand jury indicted three police officers and two fire department paramedics involved in McClain's death last month. —CNN

1. — Arbery trial begins. The murder trial has started for Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan, the three men accused of the February 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, who was gunned down as he jogged on a residential street in southeastern Georgia. Hundreds of potential jurors descended on Brunswick, Ga., for the beginning of jury selection yesterday. One of the defendants, Gregory McMichael, worked as a Glynn County Police officer and later served as an investigator for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office until his retirement in 2019. —NPR

Rutledge: Colin Powell…a hero in more ways than one

"Although [Gen. Colin] Powell eventually renounced the Republican Party, at one time he was a very loyal member. Today the term Black Republican might seem like an oxymoron for some, but Powell was significant in reminding the country that Black Americans are not monolithic in our thinking. He followed his conscience instead of his ambitions. Despite Powell's commitment to the Republican Party, he exercised independent judgment when he saw the party heading in a dangerous direction. … Powell's integrity was extraordinary. He truly put his loyalty to our republic ahead of his loyalty of party. May his recent passing remind us of that courage and inspire us all to do the same so we can fulfill the aspiration of being Americans first." —Njeri Mathis Rutledge in USA Today

Njeri Mathis Rutledge is a professor of law at South Texas College of Law Houston, a member of USA Today's Board of Contributors, and a former prosecuting attorney.

MORE: Condoleezza Rice: Colin Powell's greatest legacy is in the people he inspired —The Washington Post

Regarding the most important quality for a candidate—a number of words come to mind, but all those words revolve around the most basic theme of decency. A person who does not treat fellow human beings, whether in agreement with them or not, with common decency is simply not worthy of public office at any level. —Dennis A., Texas

This one is pretty simple—put the needs of the country above all else. —Paul G., Idaho

The single most important quality that any candidate can have, besides a sound and reasonable mind, is integrity. A person who can be true and honest probably won't get too far as a politician, but such a person is the one who is the best candidate, is the most needed, will do the most good, and is ultimately among the category of persons that we should seek out to vote for, regardless of political identity. —Kevin S., California

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