Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

With Stephen Miller at the helm, Trump charts a course for conflict

President Donald Trump's decision to elevate loyalist Stephen Miller to run his White House indicates that he plans to ramp up confrontation in his final two years in office and block outside political and economic pressures, Trump administration officials and other Republicans say. Voters delivered a historic rebuke to ​Republicans in Tuesday's midterm election, but with Miller as White House chief of staff, the Trump administration is expected to continue its aggressive immigration crackdown, amplify cultural conflicts and give no ground to a Democratic-controlled Congress, say officials and experts who spoke to Reuters. They say ​wavering Republicans will face increased pressure to stay in line, while businesses may have a harder time making their case to the White House.

Democrats planning flood of AI bills ‌when they take control of ​Congress

Democrats are planning to unleash a flood of new legislation targeting artificial intelligence systems and data-center development when they take control of the US Congress in January, lawmakers, congressional aides and advocates said. The plans would mark a sharp shift from the Republican-led Congress, where lawmakers largely focused on promoting AI development and declined to pass legislation restricting aspects of the technology at a time when voters turned against the rapid development of data centers and their extensive power needs.

Two top Justice Department officials resign as post-election exodus accelerates

Two top officials at the US Department of Justice resigned on Friday, accelerating an exodus of senior figures from the department following the midterm elections, in which President Donald Trump's Republicans lost control of Congress. The departures of John Eisenberg, who headed the DOJ's National Security Division, and Jason Reding Quiñones, who pursued probes into past criminal investigations of Trump, follow the resignation of civil ‌rights unit chief Harmeet Dhillon on Thursday.

Democratic wins in state AG races give Trump a new headache

Democrats flipped attorney general offices in five Republican-leaning states in the midterm elections, dealing a significant blow to the conservative legal movement and erecting a new line of resistance against President Donald Trump's agenda. The victories in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa and Kansas threaten to disrupt conservative legal strategy. Incoming Democratic attorneys general could halt cooperation with federal immigration operations, fortify abortion access and file multistate challenges against the Trump administration's environmental and gun policies.

Mississippi US Senate candidates battle over ballots as winner remains unclear

US Senate candidates in Mississippi are battling over the treatment of ballots still being counted in the race, one of two remaining Senate contests yet to be called after Tuesday's midterm elections. The outcome in Mississippi and in Alaska, where the Senate race is also not yet called, will determine whether the Democratic Party extends its sweeping election victory in which it seized at least 54 of the Senate's 100 seats, and also took control of the US House of Representatives.

Factbox-Democratic attorney general wins could reshape US lawsuits on abortion, immigration and more

Republicans lost state attorney general races to Democrats in key states in the November 3 midterm elections, with potential consequences for lawsuits related to ‌abortion, transgender rights and other issues that the outgoing Republicans championed. Democrats will take over state attorney general offices in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas and Texas.

Largest US Muslim advocacy group suspends Florida operations over 'terrorist' designation law

Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations has suspended operations in Florida after the enforcement of a law that gave state officials power to designate groups as "terrorist organizations," state officials and CAIR said. Earlier this year, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure giving him and other state officials the power to designate groups as "terrorist organizations" and expel students who support them. ‌Human rights groups say the law chills free speech.

Houston mayor curtails police cooperation with ICE, saying 'elections matter'

Days after elections that swept Democrats to statewide leadership in Texas, Houston's mayor ordered his city's police department on Friday to curtail its cooperation with federal immigration officers, contrary to Republican-backed state law. Mayor John Whitmire said he was taking the action, after consulting with the state's newly elected governor, lieutenant governor and comptroller, to "reduce fear and anxiety" across the most populous city in Texas and because "elections matter."

US anti-trans ballot wins pose challenge for Democrats ahead of 2028

Voters in four US states approved ballot measures to restrict transgender rights in Tuesday's midterm elections, sending a warning to Democrats on an issue that has divided the party and is likely to remain a political challenge heading into the 2028 presidential race. The measures succeeded even as Democrats swept to victory nationwide and retook control of Congress, suggesting voters who backed Democratic candidates were still receptive to some Republican arguments on transgender issues.

Macklemore says US venues rejected his Free Palestine tour

American rapper Macklemore, an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza, said on Friday that major US concert venues including New York's Madison Square Garden refused to book his Free Palestine tour that just concluded three dates in Europe. The "Thrift Shop" performer launched the effort after he was removed as the opening act on musician Ed Sheeran's concert tour in August. Macklemore said at the time that stadium owners had objected to him saying "Free Palestine" on stage.

Factbox-Before his promotion, Stephen ⁠Miller designed Trump's immigration crackdown

US President Donald ​Trump on Friday promoted Stephen Miller, the architect of some of his toughest policies on immigration and other domestic issues, to run his White House after Republicans lost ⁠control of Congress in this week's midterm elections. Here are some facts about Trump's next White House chief of staff:

After midterm rout, Vance tries to build his own 2028 brand

Late in his blitz to salvage Republicans' midterm fortunes, Vice President JD Vance shifted strategy. He talked less about President Donald Trump and more about the issues that define his own political identity. Vance argued the case for Republicans, who lost control of Congress in Tuesday’s vote, almost exclusively through the lens of his policy portfolio, according to a Reuters review of half a dozen speeches since the Republican convention in September.

Trump makes hardliner Stephen Miller his chief of staff after midterm defeat

US President Donald Trump named longtime aide Stephen Miller as his chief of staff ⁠on Friday, giving the architect of some of his toughest domestic policies one of the most powerful jobs in Washington after Republicans lost control of Congress. Miller, who will replace Susie Wiles, assumes the role as the president prepares to confront a Democratic-led House of Representatives and Senate and a wave of congressional investigations into his administration.

US measles cases climb above 5,000 for first time since 1991

US measles cases have surged to 5,182 so far this year, the highest annual total recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 35 years, as the disease continues to spread across the country. The vast majority of infections were among people who were unvaccinated or whose ​vaccination status was unknown, accounting for 96% of cases in 2026, the CDC's data showed.

Four things to note from Friday's US jobs report

The US economy added 165,000 jobs in October — 100,000 more than expected by economists — and the unemployment rate ticked down unexpectedly to 4.1% amid a fairly broad-based improvement in the job market. Here is a look at four notable data points from the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

Trump says he wants UFC chief Dana White for White House press secretary

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had ⁠asked mixed martial arts promoter Dana White to serve as White House press secretary and called on him to bring some fighters along as assistants "even though some are not from our country." White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a "violent Fighter and Warrior," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Cornell faculty senate declares no confidence in university leadership

Cornell University's faculty senate approved a resolution of no confidence on Friday in the administration's ability to handle what it has called a sexual assault crisis, after a former student sued the university for not protecting her from an alleged 2024 gang rape. The resolution, which 55.6% of elected faculty senators who cast votes supported, is a condemnation of Cornell's leadership from its major legislative and advisory body, but has no concrete consequences. The tally showed ⁠37% ​voted against it and 7.4% abstained, Cornell University spokesperson Rebecca Valli said.

Exclusive-Rubio warns top staff against conflicts of interest as Republicans look to 2028

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has moved to tighten control over the State Department, telling senior officials that staff must stay in their lanes and avoid actions that present conflicts of interest, four people familiar with the matter said. Rubio's message, delivered in a meeting last week before the Republican Party's electoral losses on Tuesday, comes as its leading figures attempt to put distance between themselves and an increasingly unpopular Trump administration.

Employers, watchmen at California ports extend contract talks

The Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports employer group and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26 extended their bargaining deadline through November 20, averting a potential strike by about 2% of workers at the busiest US container port complex. The Pacific Maritime Association said on Friday that additional talks were scheduled with the union representing about 250 maritime watchmen at the ports.

How Democrats won their blowout midterm victory

Four years after helping Democrats win both US Senate seats in Georgia, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went looking for a candidate who could expand the party's map. He found one in an unlikely place: ⁠Mississippi.

Pope Leo voted in US midterms because 'I'm proud to be an American'

Pope Leo said on Friday he had decided to cast a ballot by mail in the US midterm elections in an historic first for a Catholic leader because he feels pride in being a US citizen and wanted to do his civic duty. "I'm proud to be an American and to exercise the right," Leo, the first US-born pope, told a journalist aboard his flight from Rome to Uruguay, where he is opening an ambitious 12-day trip across South America.

Trump vows new US ⁠air show will be biggest in the world

US President Donald Trump and NASA on Friday touted plans for a new space and aeronautics industry conference in the United ⁠States intended to surpass major air shows in other countries. The event, called CapeWeek and slated to be held at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will start in two years, Trump said in a speech. CapeWeek's inception was billed as an alternative to similar gatherings abroad, and comes after the White House in September urged space companies to avoid attending a high-profile global space summit that month in Paris organized by French President Emmanuel Macron.

White House recasts Trump arch as military tribute

Hours after a US judge paused construction on President Donald Trump's proposed 250-foot (76.2-meter) arch in Washington, the White House on Friday shared new depictions portraying the project as a tribute to the nation's military heritage, the latest attempt to rebrand it amid mounting opposition. The site unveiled on Friday calls the project, which would stand near the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery, the Military Triumphal Arch.

'Trump has cost us': After ‌midterm losses, MAGA asks if it's over

As Republicans faced a nationwide drubbing in Tuesday’s midterm elections, supporters streamed out ‌of a Dallas ballroom where they’d hoped to toast a win for US Senate candidate Ken Paxton, a favorite of President Donald Trump. In the hotel bar, Michael Little, a 59-year-old businessman and three-time Trump voter, stared at the president’s image on a television screen. “People are pissed off at Trump. Trump has cost ​us,” he said, capturing a sentiment rippling through the president’s Make America Great Again movement after the Republican Party’s worst electoral defeat in decades.