Mike Johnson declined to commit to serving out his term in Congress while answering questions from reporters this evening.

Johnson, the current House speaker, said "after a lot of prayer and reflection" he had decided not to run to be House minority leader in January.

"I'm still in charge here until early January. And we're going to do our duty and after that my commitment and my objective is to help my team ensure that the Republican Party has a very successful 120th Congress, and we'll see how all that develops," he said. But he noted, "Really the only person in the modern era that decided to stick around and serve in the Speaker emeritus position was Nancy Pelosi."

California senator said "the need for a permitting reform package has only grown in the past decade" but that current bipartisan legislation intended to speed up permitting reviews for data centers and other infrastructure projects "needs further improvement before I can support it."

In a lengthy social media post, Schiff, a Democrat, said "the transmission and grid reform provisions are very positive" but "that we need to have confidence that any permitting reform legislation is not going to be weaponized by this or any future administration to single out states and provide giveaways to the oil and gas industries."

Schiff added that the "legislation would jeopardize tribal sovereignty through major changes to the National Historic Preservation Act, impact the State of California's authorities under the Clean Water Act, and constrict federal agencies' ability to protect vulnerable wildlife under the Endangered Species Act."

Chris van Hollen said he is in "listening mode" and hasn't "shut the door" on a possible bid for Senate majority leader.

The Democratic senator from Maryland told reporters: "What I've said from the very beginning is, we shouldn't have a coronation. We should have a caucus discussion about what we're going to do with the power and responsibilities that have been invested in us."

He added, "In response to people calling upon me to step up here, what I've said on it is. 'I'm in listening mode and haven't shut the door.'"

In its first major move since last week's elections, the Senate has advanced bipartisan legislation to speed up permitting reviews for data centers and other infrastructure projects.

The Senate voted 73-25 to formally take up the bill, which would shorten the timeline for approving both clean and fossil fuel energy projects.

As my colleague Hilary Beaumont recently reported:

Donald Trump urged all senators to vote for the 417-page bill, which is sponsored by two Republicans and two Democrats in the Senate, but after last week's historic "blue wave" elections, some environmental and tribal advocates called on Democratic leadership to pump the brakes.

Here's more of our recent coverage of the bill:

The White House has nominated Palantir's chief information security officer Michael LoSapio to head the homeland security department's cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency.

The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed head for 22 months.

Here's more of our recent coverage of the agency:

After saying that his deportation policy was "too tough" and offering to strike an immigration deal with Democrats in an interview on 60 Minutes broadcast yesterday, Donald Trump today said "we're not going to have amnesty."

"Somebody suggested, will there be amnesty? No, but— they came in. They knew the law," Trump told reporters during a press conference today. He said his administration's deportation policy was "very strong" and that he had not spoken with incoming chief of staff about any changes.

"My policy hasn't changed," he said.

The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to resume border wall construction in the Big Bend region of Texas. The majority paused a lower court's decision as the case plays out. The Trump administration had filed an emergency appeal, saying there are illegal border crossings and drug seizures in the region.

"This horrific decision clears the way for contractors to bulldoze pristine desert and dynamite canyon walls before the courts have even decided whether this destruction is legal," Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued to stop the construction, told the Associated Press.

The man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk will stand trial in June 2028, a Utah judge ruled today.

District Judge Tony Graf allocated 105 days for the trial, with jury selection slated to begin on 21 June 2028. Graf said the 2028 date balances the defense's right to prepare with the Kirk family's desire for a speedy resolution.

Attorneys for defendant Tyler Robinson, 23, had proposed a trial starting in 2029. Robinson could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

In a statement, the Kirk family called the hearing date a "delay" and said that "every additional day without justice prolongs our family's pain."

, the Republican senator from Missouri, called for "a time of fasting and prayer for the nation" after Republicans' losses in the midterms.

In a social media post, Hawley wrote, "What happened last Tuesday was shocking and historic. It calls for a historic response. Christians need to gather and seek the Lord. I'm going to host a time of fasting and prayer for the nation on Tuesday, December 15 from 12 to 1 at the Capitol. Meet me there!"

During his press conference today, alternately claimed that the Iran war has already been won and is going to be solved soon.

Speaking about his recent meeting with the prime minister of Qatar, Trump told reporters he believes the war "militarily is effectively over."

Later he added that Pete Hegseth is "winning" the war and that there is "positive momentum" toward resolving the conflict.