The TAKE with Rick Klein
The seven days since the midterms have put intense focus on the leaders Republicans have, the leaders some in the party wish they didn't have and the leaders more in the GOP may realize they can't stop themselves from continuing to have.
Those overlapping spotlights will be centered on Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night, when former President Donald Trump is set to make a primetime announcement about another run for the presidency. That comes a day after another MAGA loss became evident, with ABC News and other major outlets projecting late Monday that Trump-backed Republican Kari Lake lost the race for governor of Arizona.
In the hours before Trump speaks, House Republicans hold their own leadership elections while confident but not quite certain that they're in a position to choose a speaker. Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is the favorite despite a challenge announced by Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs -- but the race is complicated by Trump's presence and the loyalties to him that some on his erstwhile team are eager to publicize.
Over in the Senate, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is also helped by the fact that no one is planning to take him head on. But calls for delays in leadership elections represent a challenge nonetheless -- one emboldened by Trump's enmity for him and by rival factions looking to escape blame for last week's shortfalls.
It's an odd run-up to a presidential announcement. Trump faces recriminations from his endorsements and his commitment to relitigating 2020, a swirl of legal troubles and an ambitious crop of possible rivals. That may include former Vice President Mike Pence, whose book detailing his Jan. 6 experiences publishes on the same day Trump is expected to make his intentions known.
For all that, Trump has all but dared himself to do anything other than announce that he's running again. His taunts of other potential contenders would now make hesitation look like fear or weakness.
Trump has often seemed most comfortable when events of his own instigation have swirled around him and his party. This, though, might be a moment where the chaos inside party leadership opens up more new lanes than it closes.
The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper
An Oregon congressional race is one of the latest Democratic losses in a deep blue state.
Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a progressive, on Sunday talked to her Republican opponent Lori Chavez-DeRemer to concede after she couldn't garner enough votes to come out on top, McLeod-Skinner said in a statement. "I spoke with Lori to congratulate her and wish her well in representing Oregon's Fifth District during these challenging times," the statement reads.
McLeod-Skinner's defeat joins several others in the New York City suburbs that marked red-garnering midterm defeats for Democrats in reliably blue states.
In New York, some prominent party members are pointing fingers. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cited messaging on crime from moderate Democrats like New York Mayor Eric Adams.
"This overreliance and insistence on leaning into Republican narratives on crime and safety hurt Democrats in the state of New York," Ocasio-Cortez told The New York Times.
Meanwhile, Adams blamed progressives and their stances on public safety as the reason for the party's underperformance.
"Think of this for a moment: If every poll shows that New Yorkers are concerned about crime and their mayor is responding to their concern, who should be at fault? Those who ignore the concerns," Adams told MSNBC. He later added, "The problem was we ignored the concerns of everyday New Yorkers. They're at fault for that."
Regardless of fault, these races could have made the difference for the Democratic Party's effort to keep control of the House.
The TIP with Alisa Wiersema
President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program was hit with another legal hurdle on Thursday when a second federal court blocked it from being implemented. The program had already been blocked by a U.S. district court in a different case and the federal court, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, previously issued a temporary stay.
Thursday's decision to stop the Department of Education from canceling student loan debt as outlined by the president's executive order was handed down by the 8th Circuit which is based in Missouri, but the lawsuit was brought by six states overall. As reported by ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett, the three judges that reviewed the case were appointed by Republican presidents: one by George W. Bush and two by Trump.
Those judges ruled that Missouri had enough standing to prevent the student debt relief program from going forward until the case was decided. The claim made by Missouri revolves around the argument that Biden's order would decrease revenue for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, which would then affect the state's budget for public colleges and universities.
While it remains unclear how the legal battles surrounding student debt forgiveness unfold, the aftershocks will be sweeping given that the federal government has previously said about 43 million people would be eligible for student debt cancellation and considering that as of this month, more than 26 million people had applied for the program.
In addition to Biden's past campaign promises regarding the cancellation of student debt, the legal standoff raises even more questions ahead of the upcoming presidential cycle for a key voter block. Young voters -- who were partially credited with holding off an anticipated "red wave" by voting for Democrats in last week's midterms -- are sure to be attuned to developments on the policy.
"We are confident in our legal authority for the student debt relief program and believe it is necessary to help borrowers most in need as they recover from the pandemic," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. "Start Here" begins Tuesday morning with ABC's Faith Abubey on the University of Virginia mass shooting that left three football players dead. Then, ABC's Cheyenne Haslett explains the latest blockades for student loan forgiveness and what happens next. And, ABC's Pete Madden and ESPN's Dan Murphy break down their reporting on a woman who filed a complaint to SafeSport – a sexual misconduct watchdog – but is now facing punishment herself. http://apple.co/2HPocUL
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The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back Wednesday for the latest.