带走里克·克莱因
每一位民主党参议员，尤其是一位参议员，都有资格决定多数派的成败和议程。
这位民主党众议院议长正领导着一个难以驾驭的多数党，在中期选举中，她是否会在2022年后继续担任这一职务，这在一定程度上是一个悬而未决的问题。
副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯正寻求翻开新的一页，同时发誓不会因为“荒谬”的标题。虽然乔·拜登总统和他周围的人都说他将竞选连任，但越来越多的民主党人不一定相信他。
彭博通过盖蒂图像，文件
副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯看着乔·拜登总统在签署法案前讲话.
几乎每一级政府的领导力问题都是拜登议程上的重中之重，尽管有誓言称“重建更美好”法案将在圣诞节前获得参议院投票。对主要民主党人政治前途的猜测已经达到了可能分散注意力的程度。
这些动态在众议院议长南希·佩洛西的盟友身上体现得很明显告诉CNN她计划竞选连任，但还没有决定是否在此之后继续担任众议院领袖。
它们也明显地表现在这个非凡的句子中非常早的2024年来自《纽约时报》的乔纳森·马丁和亚历山大·伯恩斯:“随着拜登面临民调数字暴跌，本月他将年满82岁，副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯也受到她自己民调数字下降的困扰，关于可能替代方案的对话比一位仍在第一任期第一年的总统的惯例开始得早得多。
更直接、更亲密的是，拜登与参议员乔·曼钦的谈话是对民主党能否在2022年开始前完成更多工作的考验。“他们将在未来几天继续谈判，”曼钦的发言人说，没有说太多。
与...的关系阿维·哈珀
随着众议院特别委员会1月6日的调查一致投票推荐马克·梅多斯特朗普总统的前幕僚长因拒绝配合国会大厦袭击事件的调查而被判藐视国会罪，委员会成员分享了混乱发生时梅多斯和特朗普核心圈子里的人之间令人震惊的短信。
福克斯电视台主持人布莱恩·基尔米德和劳拉·英格拉汉姆自那以后一直淡化这次袭击，他们在1月6日告诉梅多斯，这次袭击正在“摧毁”特朗普的遗产。小唐纳德·特朗普在某种程度上告诉梅多斯，“他必须尽快谴责这个(脏话)。”梅多斯回答说:“我在用力推。我同意。”
该委员会的调查人员描绘了一幅恐怖袭击的惨淡画面，并承诺为美国人民提供那天的完整记录。
“我们的民主离毁灭只有几英寸之遥，”该委员会主席、民主党众议员本尼·汤普森说。，星期一晚上。"我们的政府系统已经到了崩溃的边缘。"
“我们不能满足于不完整的答案，或者半真半假的东西。我们不能屈服于特朗普总统掩盖事实的努力，”共和党众议员利兹·切尼说。
这个问题现在转移到众议院全体会议上，投票最早可能在周二进行。
小费亚里沙·维尔塞马
买买提·奥兹医生的节目定于明年1月结束，巩固了这位电视医生的关注点他的候选人资格在宾夕法尼亚州参议院。
在政治对手对他的居留身份进行了数周的批评后，奥兹似乎也将在宾夕法尼亚州展示他的存在作为优先事项。在过去的几天里，他的推特上布满了与各种共和党官员会面和访问当地企业的照片证据——在周一发布的一段视频中，还附有匹兹堡天际线的文件。
但随着奥兹在Keystone State四处走动，他也在试图巧妙地传递一个符合更广泛的全国共和党视角的政治信息。在最近发布到社交媒体上的一段视频中，奥兹声称他的医生身份被“取消”，并声称一些媒体反对他的候选资格。
这一信息与他的竞选团队强调医学专业知识是在COVID时代赢得选民信任的一种方式不谋而合。这位共和党候选人在语义上的斗争也可能是他竞选成功的一个更深层次的指标，这取决于选民对他的医疗权威的看法，因为他继续批评该州的疫情协议。
Leadership questions linger over Democrats' agenda: The Note
The TAKE withRick Klein
Every Democratic senator -- and, again, one in particular -- is in a position to make or break a majority and an agenda along with it.
The Democratic House speaker is leading a fractious majority that will be in jeopardy in the midterm elections in part by leaving open the question of whether she will stay in the job beyond 2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris is looking to turn a new page while vowing not to be distracted by"ridiculous" headlines. And while President Joe Biden and those around him are saying he will run for reelection, a growing number of Democrats don't necessarily believe him.
Leadership questions at almost every level of government are weighing heavily on the Biden agenda, notwithstanding vows that the Build Back Better bill will get a Senate vote before Christmas. Speculation about the political futures of leading Democrats has reached a potentially distracting volume.
Those dynamics are evident in the way House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's alliestell CNNthat she plans to run for reelection and hasn't yet decided whether to stay in House leadership beyond that.
They are also evident in this remarkable sentence ina remarkably early 2024 takefrom The New York Times' Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns: "With Mr. Biden facing plunging poll numbers and turning 82 the month he'd be on the ballot, and Vice President Kamala Harris plagued by flagging poll numbers of her own, conversations about possible alternatives are beginning far earlier than is customary for a president still in the first year of his first term.
More immediately and familiarly, Biden's conversations with Sen. Joe Manchin are the test of whether Democrats can get more done before 2022 begins. "They will continue to talk over the coming days," Manchin's spokesman said, not saying much at all.
The RUNDOWN withAveri Harper
As the House select committee investigating Jan. 6voted unanimouslyto recommendMark Meadows, former chief of staff to President Trump, be held in criminal contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate with the investigation of the attack at the Capitol, committee members shared stunning text messages between Meadows and those in Trump's inner circle at the time of the chaos.
Fox hosts Brian Kilmeade and Laura Ingraham, who have since downplayed the attack, told Meadows on Jan. 6 that the attack was "destroying" Trump's legacy. Donald Trump Jr. told Meadows, in part, "He's got to condemn this [expletive] ASAP." Meadows replied: "I'm pushing it hard. I agree."
The committee investigators painted a bleak picture of the attack and promised to provide a full accounting of that day for the American people.
"Our democracy was inches from ruin," said committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Monday evening. "Our system of government was stretched to the breaking point."
"We cannot be satisfied with incomplete answers, or half-truths. And we cannot surrender to President Trump's efforts to hide what happened," Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said.
The issue now moves to the full House, where a vote could come as early as Tuesday.
The TIP withAlisa Wiersema
Dr. Mehmet Oz's show is slated to end in January, cementing the television doctor's focus onhis candidacyin the Pennsylvania Senate.
After weeks of criticism from political opponents about the status of his residency, Oz also appears to be making it a priority to show his presence on the ground in Pennsylvania. Over the last several days, his Twitter feed has been dotted with photo evidence of meetings with various GOP officials and visits to local businesses -- capped off with a documentation of the Pittsburgh skyline in a video posted on Monday.
But as Oz makes his way around the Keystone State, he's also aiming to finesse a political message that fits in with a broader, national GOP perspective. In a recent video posted to social media, Oz claims he's being "canceled" as a doctor and alleges some media outlets are set against his candidacy.
The messaging coincides with his campaign's emphasis on medical expertise as a way to earn voters' trust in the COVID era. The Republican candidate's battle over semantics is also likely a deeper indicator of his campaign's success being dependent on voters' perceptions of his medical authority as he continues to critique the state's pandemic protocol.
