Last week in one sentence: Democrats won both the House and Senate in the midterm elections to take full control of Congress after flipping seven Republican-held seats in the Senate and more than two dozen Republican-held seats in the House, as well as five Republican-held governorships; the White House warned conservative groups it was “monitoring statements, press releases, and media engagements” from their organizations; Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vowed to prevent Trump from putting “a right-winger” on the Supreme Court; Rep. Thomas Massie pledged to force a House vote next week to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; House Democrats called for Rep. Haley Stevens to be expelled from their caucus; and House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t plan to stay on as the Republican leader after Democrats won the House.

🧩 The news quiz.

Which five states gave Democrats the governorship and control of both legislative chambers? That and nine more questions about this week’s news. Answers and explanations as you go.

Take the Last Week in WTF News Quiz

🗞️ The week in WTF.

1/ Democrats won both the House and Senate in the midterm elections to take full control of Congress after flipping seven Republican-held seats in the Senate and more than two dozen Republican-held seats in the House, as well as five Republican-held governorships. They took the governor’s office and both legislative chambers in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and won the Texas House for the first time since 2002. Democrats also won their first majority of governorships since 2010, while Republicans lost legislative supermajorities in several states, limiting their ability to override Democratic governors’ vetoes. Democrats could gain full control of Arizona, where a legislative race remains undecided. (Monday / Tuesday / Thursday)

2/ The White House warned conservative groups it was “monitoring statements, press releases, and media engagements” from their organizations. The memo reportedly went to more than 3,000 groups after Republicans lost control of the House and Senate, though the White House denied it was a threat. Ted Cruz called the losses a “Watergate-level repudiation,” saying Trump’s tariffs “have made everything too expensive” and the Iran war “has dragged on too long.” JD Vance, meanwhile, said “The reason we lost is the war,” which Trump called “largely true,” but downplayed the war’s impact and warned Democrats that “I have total veto power, so they have to come to us.” (Monday / Wednesday / Thursday)

3/ Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vowed to prevent Trump from putting “a right-winger” on the Supreme Court and warned that Democrats would block his lower-court and Cabinet nominees when they take control of the Senate on Jan. 3. The midterm results increase pressure on conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, 78, and Samuel Alito, 76, to retire before then. Alito, however, said he doesn’t plan to retire immediately, while Thomas has previously ruled out stepping down. (Thursday)

4/ Rep. Thomas Massie pledged to force a House vote next week to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Massie accused Hegseth of waging the Iran war without congressional authorization and said he would drop the effort only if Hegseth resigned. Hegseth called the impeachment articles a “sham,” while Trump publicly defended him but reportedly asked advisers whether he should keep his job. The threat follows U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Nov. 2, which U.S. officials described as defensive after Iranian forces fired at American aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz despite Trump’s promise not to attack Iran before the midterm elections. (Tuesday / Thursday)

  • Trump said he’ll soon decide whether to “make a deal” with Iran or “finish it off.” (Monday, Oct. 26)
  • Trump’s war with Iran has cost $47.1 billion so far – up $3.5 billion in roughly six weeks. (Wednesday, Oct. 28)
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Pentagon’s top military planner over allegations that he leaked classified information to journalists. (Thursday, Oct. 29)

5/ House Democrats called for Rep. Haley Stevens to be expelled from their caucus after she endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed, had promised to support him as recently as Oct. 31. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement a “despicable betrayal,” and Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens would be ineligible for future membership in the state party. Several of Stevens’ staffers resigned, including her longtime chief of staff. El-Sayed defeated Rogers, becoming the first Muslim American elected to the U.S. Senate. (Monday)

6/ House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t plan to stay on as the Republican leader after Democrats won the House. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan said they plan to run for minority leader. (Wednesday)

⏰ Dept. of WTF Just Happened.

A few updates since my last, well, update.

  1. Trump named Stephen Miller his new White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and the architect of his mass-deportation campaign, takes over Monday. Wiles, the first woman to hold the job and Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, will move to Trump’s political operation. When asked why he replaced her, Trump said that “Sometimes in life you have to make moves.” Miller helped develop Trump’s family-separation policy and the 2017 travel ban during Trump’s first term, and has overseen his second term’s immigration crackdown. About six in 10 midterm voters said the administration’s immigration enforcement had gone too far, and some Republicans blamed Miller for the Republicans’ midterm losses. After immigration agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Miller called one of them a “domestic terrorist” and later blamed the comment on bad information from Customs and Border Protection. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to lead the House Oversight Committee, vowed to investigate Miller and warned: “Stephen Miller should lawyer up.” (Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

  2. The U.S. attorney overseeing the Justice Department’s “grand conspiracy” investigation into Trump’s perceived political enemies resigned. Jason Reding Quiñones departure follows the resignations of Joseph diGenova, who led the inquiry, and Kurt Olsen, an election denier who took part in the “Stop the Steal” campaign and promoted baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. National Security Division chief John Eisenberg and Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon also resigned. The investigation produced no charges. (New York Times / CNN / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post)

  3. A federal judge blocked construction of Trump’s 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery for 14 days hours after the National Capital Planning Commission gave the project final approval. “The harm is certain,” U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said. (Axios / NPR / Associated Press)

  4. The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. Average hourly pay rose 3.1% from a year earlier, below September’s 3.7% inflation rate. (New York Times / Axios / CNBC / Bloomberg / Washington Post / NPR / Wall Street Journal)

📊 The Dept. of Numbers.

A few figures that caught my eye this week.

  • Trump urged a New York appeals court to overturn his 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

  • Trump said he’ll cut off nearly $4 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel by the end of the year. The current agreement provides $3.8 billion a year through 2028, and ending it early would require cooperation from Congress. Trump, however, said Israel could still continue to buy U.S. weapons.

👀 Most clicked.

The articles I linked to that caught your eye this week.

  1. 2026 U.S. House election results. (Associated Press)
  2. FLIPR 2026 midterm election forecast. (Nate Silver)
  3. 2026 U.S. Senate election results. (Associated Press)
  4. Trump signs proclamation he says will prevent future changes to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room. “Trump signs proclamation he says will prevent future changes to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room Trump signs proclamation he says will prevent future changes to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation that he sai.” (Associated Press)
  5. White House warns conservative groups it is ‘Monitoring’ their statements. “President Trump’s advisers moved to hold together a coalition that was beginning to splinter.” (Wall Street Journal)

📰 Daily editions.

Monday · Tuesday · Wednesday · Thursday