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ANOTHER ‘HELL NO’ — Rep. RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.) put House GOP Leader KEVIN McCARTHY on notice this morning, telling our colleague Olivia Beavers that he would not vote for McCarthy in his bid to secure the speaker’s gavel when Republicans officially retake the House in January.

Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, “said he agreed he is a ‘hard’ no vote against the California Republican, dismissing that he will either vote present or not attend the speakership vote early next year,” Olivia writes for Congress Minutes.

“Asked if McCarthy could persuade him to change his mind if the Californian approached him in the coming days about plans that Norman would support to address the national debt, the lawmaker replied: ‘It’s too late right now.’”

This is the latest in a string of blows to McCarthy’s ascension effort: Norman is the fifth GOP lawmaker to state their opposition to picking McCarthy as speaker — a number that could torpedo the vote given Republicans’ slim margin. He joins Reps. ANDY BIGGS (Ariz.) and MATT GAETZ (Fla.) in opposing McCarthy under any circumstances, while MATT ROSENDALE (Mont.) and BOB GOOD (Va.) have expressed strong opposition but left themselves some wiggle room.

Reminder: If current margins hold in the remaining uncalled House races, Republicans will have 222 seats — a four-vote majority.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK’s campaign is up with a new video today featuring HERSCHEL WALKER’s former teacher and football coach CURTIS DIXON — a Wrightsville, Ga., native who is making the case for Warnock that Walker isn’t fit to serve as a senator. “The biggest difference between the two candidates — we’re talking about the skill sets,” Dixon says. “I feel Herschel is — he has the minimum requirement, but he does not have the criteria to be a representative to serve the people.” Watch the video

— Heads up from the Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC): “The second woman who says Herschel Walker pressured her to have an abortion will hold an in-person press conference at 2:30 ET today. The woman will offer new evidence of her relationship with Walker (including audio recordings) and take questions from the media.”

HAPPENING TODAY — “Jury begins deliberating in Oath Keepers sedition trial,” by AP’s Michael Kunzelman, Lindsay Whitehurst and Alanna Durkin Richer: “Prosecutors spent weeks showing jurors messages, recordings and surveillance video they say show [Oath Keepers founder STEWART] RHODES, of Granbury, Texas, and his band of antigovernment extremists were prepared to take up arms to overturn Biden’s election victory over Trump.

“Rhodes and two of his co-defendants —THOMAS CALDWELL, of Berryville, Virginia, and JESSICA WATKINS, of Woodstock, Ohio — took the witness stand and sought to downplay their actions and portray the riot as a spontaneous outpouring of election-fueled rage instead of the result of a preconceived plot.”

TONY TAKES A BOW — ANTHONY FAUCI this morning appeared at his final White House press briefing as he prepares to step down from his post. But it likely won’t be the last time we hear from the longtime medical adviser, with House Republicans planning to bring him in for testimony as they embark on oversight concerning the Covid pandemic. Fauci says he’s ready: “I have no trouble testifying. We can defend and explain and stand by everything that we said, so I have nothing to hide.” (h/t Sarah Owermohle)

THE WHITE HOUSE WEDDING — NAOMI BIDEN NEAL gives Vogue the glossy exclusive on her White House wedding this weekend: “Naomi Biden On Her White House Wedding,”featuring an interview with Naomi and photos of the prep

LIKE SOME KIND OF CONGRESSMAN — “Taylor Swift ticket trouble could drive political engagement,” by AP’s Brooke Schultz: “Some of TAYLOR SWIFT’s fans want you to know three things: They’re not still 16, they have careers and resources and, right now, they’re angry. That’s a powerful political motivator, researchers say. Look what Ticketmaster made them do. It started Nov. 15, when millions crowded a presale for Swift’s long-awaited Eras Tour, resulting in crashes, prolonged waits and frantic purchases. … Ticketmaster apologized but the bad blood had already been sowed. And now fans — and politicians — have started acting on it.”

— Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) discussed the debacle in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying that she supports breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster: “I’m supporting unwinding that merger. I don’t believe it should’ve been approved in the first place. My hope is that the DOJ investigation is going to reveal how grave the abuse of market share and power is, and how it’s played a role in the prices that everyday consumers are seeing.”

— And Sens. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.) and MIKE LEE (R-Utah) announced this morning that a Senate Judiciary subcommittee will hold a to-be-scheduled hearing “to examine the lack of competition in the ticketing industry.” More from Klobuchar’s office

Good Tuesday afternoon. I’m not feeling great about my pick of Argentina to win the World Cup after their stunning defeat to Saudi Arabia this morning. But I’m still hopeful La Albiceleste (and our Stars and Stripes) can make it out of the group stage. Send me your takes on the tourney so far: [email protected].

MORE MIDTERMS FALLOUT

WHY MAPS MATTER — “Flip of Michigan Legislature highlights role of fair maps,” by AP’s David Lieb: “Democratic candidates for the Michigan House and Senate won a majority of votes this year, translating into their party winning control of both legislative chambers. That may seem like a natural result, but it hasn’t been in previous elections. While Democrats also won a majority of votes in 2018 and 2020, Republicans won majorities in the Legislature. The difference this time: Candidates ran in new districts drawn by a citizens commission instead of ones crafted by Republican lawmakers that were designed to help keep their party in power. … An Associated Press analysis of election data indicates that Michigan’s new state legislative districts reduced the built-in advantage Republicans had enjoyed over the previous decade.”

POLICY CORNER

SWAMP READ — “Ethics Watchdog Group Seeks Probes Into Oversight of Officials’ Stock-Trading Conflicts,” by WSJ’s Brody Mullins and Rebecca Ballhaus: “A nonpartisan group that monitors government ethics filed a series of legal complaints alleging the federal government is failing to adequately enforce conflict-of-interest rules. The Campaign Legal Center called on the executive-branch agency that oversees ethics rules to investigate what it called deficiencies in enforcement at several agencies.

“The group also requested that internal investigators at four federal agencies examine whether their ethics programs complied with federal rules. The legal filings were prompted by a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal revealing that thousands of federal employees at 50 federal agencies held stock in companies that were regulated by the agencies where those employees worked.”

TRUMP CARDS

TAKING ATTENDANCE  — “Trump’s Jan. 6 supporters feted at his Mar-a-Lago campaign launch,” by Christopher Cadelago and Daniel Lippman: A POLITICO review of social media posts of the Mar-a-Lago guests, as well as encounters at the venue, revealed at least six who were in Washington the day of Trump’s speech and the insurrection. Some of them marched on the Capitol and then posted pictures and videos of themselves on social media in the hours and days after.

“[T]he inclusion of those who were in Washington on Jan. 6 at his Mar-a-Lago event underscores how closely linked [Trump] remains to the melee that unfolded that day. Rather than isolating and ostracizing Jan. 6 figures, Trump’s team has kept them in the fold, even promising pardons for those who were there.”

SOCIAL SLUMP — “Revealed: Just one in four Trump-endorsed candidates using Truth Social actively,” by Jem Bartholomew via CJR: “[A] high proportion of the 219 candidates Trump endorsed for Senate, House, and gubernatorial races did not even appear to have an account on Truth Social, let alone post actively, with 68 percent appearing not to have opened an account. Others who had registered accounts had not posted in months.”

THE PANDEMIC

THE NEW PUSH — “White House kicking off six-week Covid-19 booster push,” by CNN’s Betsy Klein: “‘With winter and holiday gatherings right around the corner, more Americans getting their updated vaccine will help avoid thousands of preventable Covid-19 deaths. The six-week campaign will focus on reaching seniors and the communities that were hardest hit by Covid-19 through making it more convenient to get vaccinated and increasing awareness through paid media,’ a fact sheet shared first with CNN said.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

VEEP ABROAD — “Kamala Harris Seeks to Strengthen Philippines Alliance Amid Fraught China Relations,” by WSJ’s Feliz Solomon in Puerto Princesa, Philippines: “Vice President KAMALA HARRIS pledged deeper maritime cooperation with the Philippines and held discussions on the proposed expansion of a military pact between the two countries as Washington seeks to firm up its alliances in Asia. Ms. Harris’s three-day visit to the Southeast Asian country—which closely follows President Biden’s trip to the region for a string of summits—builds on U.S. efforts to step up diplomacy as it faces an assertive China.”

DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “U.S., Chinese Defense Chiefs Meet in Reflection of Easing Tensions,” by WSJ’s Raffaele Huang in Singapore: “[Defense Secretary LLOYD] AUSTIN and Chinese Defense Minister WEI FENGHE discussed bilateral ties and security matters on the sidelines of a gathering of defense ministers in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap, the Pentagon said Tuesday.”

THE CLIMATE CONUNDRUM — “In war-torn states hurt by climate, scant hope for new funds,” by AP’s Samy Magdy in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt: “The United Nations’ climate conference, which wrapped up last weekend in Egypt, established a new fund to help poor, vulnerable countries hit hard by climate change. Countries like Yemen and Somalia are among the world’s poorest and more vulnerable to climate change impacts as they are less able to adapt to weather extremes. But they have little or no access to climate financing. Conflict-hit countries are unlikely to receive funds because they lack stable governments, said NISREEN EL-SAIM, chair of the U.N. Secretary-General Youth Advisory Group.”

WAR IN UKRAINE

ANOTHER AID ASK — “Senators Urge Biden Administration to Provide Ukraine With Armed Drones,” by WSJ’s Nancy Youssef and Gordon Lubold: “In a Nov. 22 letter to Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN, 16 senators urged the administration to give Ukraine MQ-1C armed drones, or Grey Eagles, which are medium-altitude armed drones that can fly for more than 24 hours.”

WAR REPORT — “For Ukraine, So Much Unexpected Success, and Yet So Far to Go,” by NYT’s Marc Santora and Andrew Kramer in Kyiv

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

DEEP DIVE — “Ian was one of the most lethal hurricanes in decades. Many of the deaths were preventable,” by NBC’s Jon Schuppe, Elizabeth Chuck, Melissa Chan, Lewis Kamb and Nigel Chiwaya: “The late September storm exposed shortcomings in how local governments communicate the risk posed by hurricanes, decide when to order evacuations and identify and help the most vulnerable residents. Ian also illustrated the challenge of protecting densely populated waterfront communities from extreme weather worsened by climate change; thousands of coastal residents chose not to evacuate.”

INFRASTRUCTURE INVOICE — “How to Spend $1 Trillion? Mitch Landrieu Wants a Say,” by NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs in Elm City, N.C.: “Over the past year, [MITCH] LANDRIEU has been on a national tour of sorts for Mr. Biden’s infrastructure package, hopping commercial flights around the country to pitch the funds for roads, bridges, broadband and clean energy. And while the decisions about how to spend the money largely fall to state leaders, Mr. Landrieu is out promoting the plan, sometimes even negotiating with local officials who disagree with the president’s ideas about how best to repair the nation’s crumbling infrastructure in an equitable way.”

TROUBLING TREND — “Crowded and Deadly, U.S. Jails Are in Crisis,” by NYT’s Shaila Dewan: “Covid-19 accounts for only part of the rising toll — suicides and fatal overdoses have also increased in some places. Jail officials blame a host of factors, including crowding, staff shortages, mental health issues exacerbated by the pandemic and the repurposing of beds in solitary confinement, once available to isolate violent detainees, that now must be used for quarantining the ill.”

MUSK READS

INSIDE THE BUILDING — “Musk’s ‘free speech’ agenda dismantles safety work at Twitter, insiders say,” by WaPo’s Cat Zakrzewski, Faiz Siddiqui and Joseph Menn: “Hours after ELON MUSK took control of Twitter in late October, the Trust and Safety team responsible for combating hate speech on the site received an urgent directive: Bring back the Babylon Bee. To some Twitter employees, the order was troubling. The self-described Christian satirical site had been banned since March for refusing to delete a tweet naming Biden health official RACHEL LEVINE its ‘Man of the Year.’ Levine is a transgender woman, and the tweet violated a 2018 rule prohibiting Twitter users from targeting transgender people by referring to them by the name or gender they used before transitioning.”

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED at a panel discussion, titled “Making Meaning of the Election,” hosted by Australian Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos and Elizabeth Sinodinos with Kathy “Coach” Kemper on Monday night: panelists Dana Bash, Lucas Tomlinson, Justin Fishel and Jennifer Griffin, John Paul Farmer, Rebeca Lamadrid, Clara Tsao, Shaun and Laura Modi, Matt Lira, Suhas Subramanyam, Chris Kuang, Kaivan Shroff,Caitlin Gandhi, Luxembourg Ambassador Nicole Bintner-Bakshian, Iceland Ambassador Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, Albanian Ambassador Floreta Faber, EU Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Greek Ambassador Alexandra Papadoupoulou, Estonian Ambassador Kristjan Prikk and Latvian Ambassador Māris Selga.

BIRTHWEEK (was Monday): Shawna Shepherd