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WELCOME TO THE 2024 CYCLE — “Mooney announces for Senate, revving up race to take on Manchin,” by MetroNews’ Brad McElhinny: “One week after the most recent election, Congressman ALEX MOONEY announced a long-anticipated 2024 run for U.S. Senate today on MetroNews ‘Talkline.’ ‘It’s been talked about a lot, but I’m going to announce. I’m announcing it right now that I’m running for the U.S. Senate,’ said Mooney, a Republican. ‘I’m all in.’”

FRESHMAN ORIENTATION — “New to Congress? Read This Before the Indoctrination Starts,” by Steven Pearlstein for POLITICO Magazine

HAPPENING NOW — House Republicans are set to begin their closed-door leadership election at 1 p.m., where Leader KEVIN McCARTHY is caught between a wing of his party that wants to see leadership change after a bruising midterm season and the other side that believes the California Republican is still the best man for the job. Follow our ace colleagues Olivia Beavers, Jordain Carney and Sarah Ferris for all of the latest as details spill out of the room

The table-setter: “House GOP heads into mostly locked-up leadership elections, with chaos ahead,” by Olivia and Jordain Carney

INFIGHTING INCOMING — MITCH McCONNELL may be in for a contested election to his post as Senate minority leader, our colleague Burgess Everett reports, which would mark the first time receiving “no” votes in McConnell’s 15-year tenure as GOP leader.

Here’s Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas): “If leadership refuses to delay the election, if leadership tries to ram through an election tomorrow morning, I think it is extremely likely it will be a contested election. That you will see one or more senators run against Mitch McConnell.”

Who’d run against him? While the most likely challenger would be Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.), who has sparred with McConnell over the party’s disappointing midterm returns, Sen. RON JOHNSON (R-Wis.) is also being floated.

Watch out for this: “Another wild card is the group of newly elected GOP senators, who were in town on Tuesday for orientation: ERIC SCHMITT of Missouri, J.D. VANCE of Ohio, KATIE BRITT of Alabama, TED BUDD of North Carolina and MARKWAYNE MULLIN of Oklahoma,” writes Burgess.

INFLATION NATION — “Wholesale prices rose 0.2% in October, less than expected, as inflation eases,” by CNBC’s Jeff Cox: “The [producer] price index, a measure of the prices that companies get for finished goods in the marketplace, rose 0.2% for the month, against the Dow Jones estimates for a 0.4% increase. …

“Excluding food, energy and trade services, the index also rose 0.2% on the month and 5.4% on the year. Excluding just food and energy, the index was flat on the month and up 6.7% on the year. … One significant contributor to the slowdown in inflation was a 0.1% decline in the services component of the index. That marked the first outright decline in that measure since November 2020.”

WAITING ON THE TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT —WaPo’s Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer have a report on what DONALD TRUMP’s 2024 presidential campaign will look like, noting that it is expected to carry a few key differences from his last bid as the former president tries to reclaim his outsider status.

“His nascent presidential bid is not currently expected to have a traditional campaign manager, with multiple advisers in top roles, according to some of the people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations. Trump is famous for firing campaign managers.

“Compared with 2020, the 2024 bid is expected to have a smaller staff and budget, advisers say, as Trump has complained that his failed 2020 campaign had too many people and spent too much money. He often told people that he did not even know what some of the people on his last campaign did. The new campaign is expected to be based in South Florida, advisers say, instead of having a Washington presence.”

Names to know: “The top advisers include CHRIS LaCIVITA, a longtime Republican strategist who is directing a super PAC tied to Trump, and SUSIE WILES, a Florida-based political consultant who helped Trump win the state in his previous two presidential bids and has led his political operation for the past 18 months. … The group of top advisers also includes BRIAN JACK, who served as a senior political aide in the White House and has advised Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) since 2021.”

*EYES EMOJI* — “Christie applauded after bashing Trump at GOP governor meeting,” by Axios’ Jonathan Swan and Zachary Basu: “[Former New Jersey Gov. CHRIS] CHRISTIE addressed a room full of hundreds of people — Republican governors, high-level donors and consultants — at a hotel in Orlando, less than 200 miles north from the Mar-a-Lago resort where Trump is expected to make his announcement Tuesday night. Christie, a former Trump ally who is now considering his own 2024 presidential campaign, said voters ‘rejected crazy’ in the 2022 midterms and that Republicans lost because of bad candidates.”

HOT JOB —Public Policy Manager at Twitter

Good Tuesday afternoon. Rep. BILL PASCRELL JR. (D-N.J.) got put on the waitlist for access to TAYLOR SWIFT tickets today and wanted to hear about people’s experiences waiting in the queue. I’m weary to report that after navigating a Glitch or two, I’ve been waiting in line since 10 a.m. — but I’m still hopeful Karma will be good to me. Let me know if you were a Lucky One who got tickets and where: [email protected].

TRUMP CARDS

BITE FROM THE PENCE BOOK —AP’s Jill Colvin has the download on former VP MIKE PENCE’s new book, “So Help Me God,” ($35) out today. In the book, Pence “largely defends Trump, glossing over and whitewashing many of his most contentious episodes,” Colvin writes. But the defense ends around the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

“For four years, we had a close working relationship. It did not end well,” Pence writes, adding: “we parted amicably when our service to the nation drew to a close. In the months that followed, we spoke from time to time, but when the president returned to the rhetoric that he was using before that tragic day and began to publicly criticize those of us who defended the Constitution, I decided it would be best to go our separate ways.”

Still, Colvin notes that Pence “never directly states that Democrat JOE BIDEN won fairly,” and that “when Trump first suggested holding a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, the day Pence was set to preside over the election’s certification, he thought it was a good idea.”

HOW LOW THE BAR IS — “Police chief ‘shocked’ he wasn't stiffed by Donald Trump on a bill for rally security,” by Insider’s Nicole Gaudiano: “Trump's presidential campaigns were notorious for stiffing police departments on bills for special security details at political rallies across the country. [WILL] CLARK's own department in Pennsylvania still has an unpaid bill for extra security at a ‘Make America Great Again Rally,’ back in 2018. … So when the check arrived weeks later, Clark said he briefly considered bronzing a copy and hanging it on the wall ‘to forever memorialize the fact that we got reimbursed.’”

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

IMMIGRATION FILES — “After a Perilous Journey, Migrants Try to Make It in New York City,” by NYT’s Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura: “Faced with lengthy bureaucratic delays, tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants are slipping into the city’s underground economy and joining its army of undocumented workers.”

— “Cubans, Nicaraguans drive illegal border crossings higher,” by AP’s Elliot Spagat in San Diego

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

THE G-20 BACKDROP — “World Leaders Meet as Global Economy Faces Multiple Threats,” by NYT’s Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport in Bali, Indonesia: “They hope to broker agreements meant to dampen global oil prices, help emerging markets escape crushing debt and increase food supplies to poorer nations where the cost of grain, rice and other staples have spiked since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

— “G-20 to hold tough on Russia, urge end to Ukraine war,” by AP’s Seung Min Kim, Zeke Miller and Elaine Kurtenbach

THE FRUITS OF THE BIDEN-XI MEETING — “U.S., China climate envoys meet at COP27 summit in Egypt,” by AP’s Frank Jordans, Kelvin Chan and Seth Borenstein

FOR YOUR RADAR — “U.S., Cubans will meet again in Havana,” by AP’s Matthew Lee and Megan Janetsky: “U.S. and Cuban officials plan to meet in Havana on Tuesday to discuss migration policy, the latest in a series of sessions between two governments with a historically icy relationship and amid one of the biggest migratory flights from the island in decades.”

WAR IN UKRAINE

RUSSIA STRIKES AGAIN — “Blasts Hit 3 Major Ukrainian Cities in First Widespread Attack Since Kherson Retreat,” NYT

THE ARMS RACE — “For Western Weapons, the Ukraine War Is a Beta Test,” by NYT’s Lara Jakes

POLICY CORNER

SBF LATEST — “FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Attempts to Raise Fresh Cash Despite Bankruptcy,” by WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff, Vicky Ge Huang and Berber Jin: “[SAM] BANKMAN-FRIED, alongside a few remaining employees, spent the past weekend calling around in search of commitments from investors to plug a shortfall of up to $8 billion in the hopes of repaying FTX’s customers, the people said. The efforts to cover that shortfall have so far been unsuccessful. The Wall Street Journal couldn’t determine what Mr. Bankman-Fried is offering in return for any potential cash infusion, or whether any investors have committed.”

— “Collapsed Crypto Exchange FTX Could Owe More Than 1 Million Creditors,” by NYT’s David Yaffe-Bellany

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) having drinks on Monday night at Charlie Palmer with Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.

SPOTTED at Susanna Quinn’s home on Monday night for a party celebrating David Ambroz’s new book “A Place Called Home” ($21) co-hosted by Stephanie Cutter, Adrienne Elrod, Hilary Liftin and Kimball Stroud: Jack Quinn, Norah O’Donnell, John McCarthy, Herbie Ziskend, Emilie Simons, Eli Yokley, Dan Koh and Amy Sennett, Josh Dawsey, Kim Sajet, Ryan Williams, Nancy Bagley, Rachel Levitan, Tanya Mayorkas and Erika Gudmundson.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Asad Ramzanali is taking over as chief of staff for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He previously was director of legislative affairs and is an Anna Eshoo and Brian Schatz alum.

STAFFING UP — Sara Craig Gongol will be executive director of the Republican Governors Association. She previously was chief of staff for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. More from Zach Montellaro

TRANSITIONS — Cliff Williamson is now executive director of the Virginia Agribusiness Council. He previously was director of health and regulatory affairs at the American Horse Council. … Christin Fernandez is now director of strategic comms and media relations at Marriott International. She most recently was director of comms at Koch Industries.

ENGAGED — Taylor LaJoie, legislative director for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and Jackie Fowler, director of member relations at the Conservative Partnership Institute got engaged on Oct. 22. at the Dumbarton Oaks gardens in Georgetown. The couple met through work after Taylor, a frequent visitor at Jackie’s offices, asked her out in spring earlier this year. Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jamison Cruce, senior director of government affairs at the USA Rice Federation and Elise Cruce, managing director of leadership development at the American Farm Bureau Federation welcomed Walker Anthony Cruce on Nov. 10. Pic

BONUS BIRTHDAY: Ben Goodman