Afternoon Sun: Victory Fund (Victory TBD)

Good afternoon. This is the Afternoon Sun newsletter for Nov. 5, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

Donald Trump’s administration got its first post-midterms departure today: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon resigned as head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, a storied office she transformed into a platform for advancing conservative culture-war politics.

Steve Scalise sent a letter to committee chairs urging them to be ready for “retribution” and “countless witch hunts” from House Oversight next year.

• The letter asks chairs to identify officials or projects likely on Democrats’ “target list” and consider how recent Supreme Court decisions will factor into oversight going forward.

CNN was blocked from the president’s Oval Office event this afternoon, despite being scheduled for today’s TV pool, Kaitlan Collins said in a post on X.

THE HILL

Republican lawmakers want to address why they lost control of both chambers of Congress and many state legislatures — but there’s no consensus yet.

• Senate Republicans are staring down their last chance to move key priorities during the end-of-year lame-duck session.

Chuck Schumer vowed that Democrats will not allow Trump to put “a right-winger” on the Supreme Court once the party takes power, signaling that leadership would block a nominee if a vacancy arises.

Fresh off the blue wave, Michigan Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet is asking her Democratic colleagues to name her the next “battleground leadership representative,” a role aimed at building on the progress the party made in winning House seats.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Michigan) dropped out of a post-midterm panel scheduled to take place later today in D.C. She was replaced by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin.

• Raskin told reporters at a Center for American Progress event today that he had been asked to join Stevens at the panel before she bowed out. “Haley did us a big favor,” he said, adding that her “betrayal boomeranged” and motivated Democrats across the country to turn out on Tuesday.

THE STATES

A new lawsuit aims to stop a ban on corporate political giving in Montana before it begins, after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure prohibiting “artificial persons” — including corporations, nonprofits, trusts and other entities doing business in the state — from spending to influence elections there.

The legal wrangling over Mississippi’s Senate race has begun: NRSC officials sent letters to county officials asking them to set aside provisional ballots as the state enters a third day of vote-counting for the contest between GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he’ll commute all 548 death sentences in the state to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

A good number of House races are still uncalled, including those of Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tennessee), who is slightly behind Democrat Victoria Broderick, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina), who is trailing Democrat Chuck Hubbard — but still filed a statement of organization for the “Foxx Victory Fund” with the NRCC today.

Nithya Raman, a little-known Los Angeles City Council member backed by the DSA, defeated Mayor Karen Bass today in an upset that will alter the trajectory of the nation’s second-largest city.

DIRI-GO AWAY

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe and Erik Schutz. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at newsletters@washsun.com.