The People Voted. The Power Brokers Are Negotiating.

It took about 48 hours. On one side, the president was calling advisers to ask whether his defense secretary should keep his job. On the other, the Democratic leader sent his colleagues a letter asking for the speaker's gavel. One party is looking for someone to fire. The other is deciding who gets crowned. Voters are still at the kitchen table with the same receipts they had on Tuesday.

What follows is reporting, not confirmation. As of Thursday, Nov. 5, nobody has been fired and nobody has been elected speaker.

1. Looking for someone to fire

• Hegseth. Multiple sources told CBS News that President Trump has been asking advisers whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should stay. Other sources said no decision has been made. One source said Ron DeSantis is being floated as a replacement.
• In public. Trump said, "No, I think he's doing a very good job." The White House says he has "full confidence in Secretary Hegseth."
• The feud (single-source). The Daily Mail, citing unnamed sources, reports that chief of staff Susie Wiles is trying to deflect blame and that Marco Rubio and JD Vance are being set against each other. Treat it as one outlet's account.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal he doesn't regret the war and "would have done it again," and said Wednesday he "would have done nothing different." In an AP survey of voters, about 6 in 10 called military action against Iran the wrong decision. Firing a messenger doesn't change the message.

2. The war that cost them Congress

Axios reports the military is finishing preparations in case Trump orders renewed strikes, while a group led by Vance urges a deal and Qatari mediators hold a draft agreement. Trump is undecided and told the Financial Times the U.S. is "locked and loaded." Brent crude fell below $100 Wednesday for the first time since September. Iran's Revolutionary Guard says tankers caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

3. Who inherits the victory

Hakeem Jeffries launched his speaker bid Nov. 4; the full House votes Jan. 3. Five DSA-endorsed candidates won House seats (NPR counts six), including Darializa Avila Chevalier, who beat Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair Adriano Espaillat, and Melat Kiros, who beat 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette. None has committed to backing Jeffries. Axios reports the size of the majority weakens progressives' leverage.

Daysha's case for Jeffries: he led one of the party's biggest House wins in a generation, moderates won too, and a united majority is how subpoenas and war-powers votes actually happen. Don's challenge: unity without commitments is the old system with a new gavel.

4. New majority. Old money?

Per Sludge's review of FEC records, AIPAC's PAC sent $149,300 to the Jeffries Battleground Protection Fund on May 20, earmarked from hedge fund founder Daniel Och, the largest earmarked payment in the PAC's history. In July, Jeffries opposed cutting $3.3 billion in military financing for Israel as "overly broad."

A donation is not a vote, and nothing shows the money changed his position. AIPAC is a lobby, not Jewish Americans. The real question: will the new majority run on voters' priorities or donors' priorities? Watch the votes, not the speeches.

5. What voters actually asked for

About 70% of voters told the AP they want Congress to check the president. Daysha's test for anyone who wants the gavel: What's the first bill that lowers my costs? Will you hold a vote on ending this war? Will you limit lobby money in your own house? Everyone gets the test.

Notice the pattern. Interrupt it.

Sources: CBS News (Nov. 4–5, 2026); Daily Mail via The Daily Beast/Yahoo (Nov. 5); AP Voter Poll via PBS NewsHour; Axios via Iran International (Nov. 4–5); Axios (Nov. 4–5, headlines); OPB/AP and NPR (Nov. 3–4); Sludge (July 14 and Aug. 22, 2026), from FEC records.

Image: AI-generated editorial illustration, not a photograph.