The Voters Changed Congress. Now the Fight Over Presidential Power Begins.

[CONFIRMED] Newly elected members of Congress arrived in Washington on Monday for orientation, which runs through Nov. 18: briefings, a Capitol tour, staff-hiring training and the lottery that decides who picks offices first. At least 109 freshmen are expected in the House, the largest incoming class since 1933, according to AURN. The 120th Congress is sworn in Jan. 3. As of Monday morning, 19 House races and the Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi were still uncalled.

[CONFIRMED] The outgoing Congress came back the same day for a lame-duck session with fewer than 25 days in session, CNN reports. Four fights opened at once:

• Impeachment. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, most of them over the Iran war. A House vote must come by Wednesday.
• Money and the war. Government funding runs out Dec. 11. Asked whether Democrats would force a shutdown over the war, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, "We're going to end the war in Iran one way or the other."
• The election itself. President Trump questioned the results on Truth Social: "Does anybody really believe that this 'Election' was honest." He gave no evidence.
• The Court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said this weekend she hopes the Supreme Court will reverse its presidential immunity ruling.

[CONFIRMED] Republican leaders are split on what the voters meant. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the party must "internalize" the message and "do things better." House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "I'm not going to tell the president how to do his job." Thune faces a GOP leadership vote Tuesday.

[COMMENTARY] These are four separate fights, not one coordinated plan. They share one question: how much can a president do without Congress, the courts or the voters? The new members can't vote until January. The old ones can. What they do in the next 25 days will show whether an election changes power, or only who complains about it.

Notice the pattern. Interrupt it.

— Elena Cross, Prodigal Breaking News

Sources: AURN, "House Freshmen Arrive After 2026 Democratic Wave" (Nov. 9, 2026); CNN live coverage (Nov. 9, 2026); CBS News and NPR on the Hegseth articles (Nov. 9, 2026); Al Jazeera on Trump's Truth Social post (Nov. 9, 2026); The Hill on Justice Sotomayor (Nov. 8, 2026).