Today in one sentence: Republican Matt Van Epps won a House special election in Tennessee’s deep-red 7th District by roughly nine points, far below Trump’s 22 point margin there last year; a Pentagon watchdog concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked endangering U.S. troops by using his personal device and the Signal app to share sensitive operational details about planned strikes in Yemen; the Trump administration launched a broad immigration sweep in New Orleans; House Democrats released photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in an effort to pressure on the Justice Department to disclose its Epstein files by the Dec. 19 deadline; Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith for a closed-door deposition about his prosecutions of Trump; and Trump rolled back Biden-era fuel economy and tailpipe emission rules for cars and light trucks, cutting the 2031 target from about 50 miles per gallon to 34.5 miles per gallon and reducing pressure on automakers to sell electric vehicles.

1/ Republican Matt Van Epps won a House special election in Tennessee’s deep-red 7th District by roughly nine points, far below Trump’s 22 point margin there last year. Republicans, despite spending millions and campaigning with Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, called the underperformance “dangerous” and a “wake-up call” ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democrats, meanwhile, said Aftyn Behn’s 13-point gain over Trump’s 2024 margin shows voters are punishing Republicans over prices and Trump’s agenda. They pointed to recent Democratic wins in New Jersey and Virginia and similar overperformances in other specials as evidence that seats considered safe in 2024 could be competitive in 2026. (Associated Press / NBC News / Washington Post / Politico / Strength in Numbers / New York Times / CNN / Slate / Bloomberg / Axios)

2/ A Pentagon watchdog concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked endangering U.S. troops by using his personal device and the Signal app to share sensitive operational details about planned strikes in Yemen. Despite Hegseth and the Pentagon insisting he did nothing wrong, the inspector general found that he shared operational details labeled Secret over an unclassified, commercial platform, and violated Defense Department policy on secure communications. Investigators said Hegseth refused an in-person interview, provided only a brief written statement, and turned over just a small set of his Signal messages, forcing the review to rely on screenshots already made public. While the report acknowledges that Hegseth had authority to declassify information, it doesn’t resolve whether he actually did before texting. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / Bloomberg / ABC News / NPR / Politico / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)

3/ The Trump administration launched a broad immigration sweep in New Orleans. DHS said it was targeting people released from local jails under sanctuary city policies, and Border Patrol said several hundred agents were spreading through neighborhoods, commercial areas and the French Quarter. They didn’t disclose the operation’s size or duration. The FBI and Louisiana State Police also formed a joint effort to deter interference, while Governor Jeff Landry backed the deployment and pressed for more federal support. Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, meanwhile, cited reports from earlier sweeps that detained many people with no criminal history and raised concerns about due process and aggressive tactics. (Bloomberg / New York Times / NBC News / ABC News / Politico)

4/ House Democrats released photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in an effort to pressure on the Justice Department to disclose its Epstein files by the Dec. 19 deadline. A bipartisan group of lawmakers then asked Attorney General Pam Bondi for briefing on any “new evidence” or issues that could delay the department’s obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. While Republicans accused Democrats of selectively releasing material, the DOJ hasn’t explained how it will meet the law’s requirements. Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell, meanwhile, told a federal judge they will oppose unsealing grand jury records, which could further restrict what DOJ is able to make public. (Washington Post / Politico / Axios / NBC News / Axios / CNN / New York Times)

5/ Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith for a closed-door deposition about his prosecutions of Trump. Smith had asked to testify in public, and Trump also said he would rather see Smith testify publicly, even as he called Smith “a sick man” and other insults. After rejecting Smith’s offer to testify in an open hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan ordered Smith to turn over records by Dec. 12. Smith’s lawyer said the rejection of public testimony denied Americans the chance to hear directly from him, but that Smith still plans to meet with the committee. Democrats, meanwhile, warned thata private interview could be selectively leaked. Smith led the 2020 election and classified-documents investigations, but dropped both cases after Trump returned to office as part of Justice Department protocol. (New York Times / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Washington Post / Politico)

6/ Trump rolled back Biden-era fuel economy and tailpipe emission rules for cars and light trucks, cutting the 2031 target from about 50 miles per gallon to 34.5 miles per gallon and reducing pressure on automakers to sell electric vehicles. The White House called it the “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” plan and claimed it would save Americans $109 billion – about $1,000 per new vehicle. Economists and past federal analyses, however, have showed that similar rollbacks ignore long-term fuel savings and public health costs, and would leave many drivers paying more for gasoline. The new policy comes following steps to erase penalties for missing Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets, cancel EPA greenhouse gas limits for vehicles, end federal EV tax credits, and block state-level gas car phaseouts. (Wall Street Journal / Axios / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times)

Four years ago today: Day 318: "Bare minimum."
Seven years ago today: Day 683: Compromised.