Politics A.M.: Democratic midterm fears mount as policies fail to resonate with voters

Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges; Congress returns to work staring down fiscal deadlines and fights over Biden's agenda; Biden wonders publicly whether burn pits caused his son's death. Activists want him to do more on the issue.; U.S. will miss electric-vehicle targets without big investments in semiconductor manufacturing, commerce secretary warns; Biden's challenge, gamble and wish set the table for the 2022 elections; U.S. to restrict travel from South Africa and other countries as it assesses risks of new omicron variant; Ghislaine Maxwell trial set to open in New York, two years after Jeffrey Epstein's jailhouse suicide; For Clarence Thomas, avowed critic of Roe v. Wade, Mississippi abortion case a moment long awaited; Rep. Ilhan Omar calls for 'appropriate action' to be taken against Rep. Lauren Boebert after she shared anti-Muslim story ; As Afghanistan's economy collapses, international community looks for innovative ways to avoid humanitarian disaster ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Black Friday Sale: Get unlimited access for just 99 cents.  Sign up for this newsletter Read online The most important politics stories today.     (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) Democratic midterm fears mount as policies fail to resonate with voters Democrats are eager to tout the bills they have passed in Biden's first year, but a strategy tying together the disparate pieces of legislation is still lacking. By Tyler Pager, Sean Sullivan, Michael Scherer and Marianna Sotomayor ●  Read more »   Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges If they succeed, the former president and his backers could pull down some of the guardrails that prevented him from overturning President Biden's victory, critics say. By Amy Gardner, Tom Hamburger and Josh Dawsey ●  Read more »   Congress returns to work staring down fiscal deadlines and fights over Biden's agenda The flurry of policy battles set the stage for a politically discordant month on Capitol Hill at a time when tensions between Democrats and Republicans are running higher than ever. By Tony Romm ●  Read more »   Biden wonders publicly whether burn pits caused his son's death. Activists want him to do more on the issue. Beau Biden died in 2015 after serving overseas near waste-burning pits, though any connection has not been proved. Activists say the president should do more to help vets in a similar plight. By Matt Viser ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   U.S. will miss electric-vehicle targets without big investments in semiconductor manufacturing, commerce secretary warns The Biden administration wants half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to be zero-emissions vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell electric vehicles. By Jeanne Whalen ●  Read more »   Biden's challenge, gamble and wish set the table for the 2022 elections Biden hasn't received credit for what he's accomplished and hasn't done all he said he would. Now a new coronavirus variant adds uncertainty to the months ahead. Analysis ●  By Dan Balz ●  Read more »   U.S. to restrict travel from South Africa and other countries as it assesses risks of new omicron variant The president sought to project confidence as the new coronavirus variant raised fresh concerns about the pandemic. By Annie Linskey and Tyler Pager ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Ghislaine Maxwell trial set to open in New York, two years after Jeffrey Epstein's jailhouse suicide Maxwell, a longtime companion to Epstein, allegedly helped recruit and groom his young sex abuse victims. By Shayna Jacobs ●  Read more »   For Clarence Thomas, avowed critic of Roe v. Wade, Mississippi abortion case a moment long awaited The most conservative Supreme Court in decades on Wednesday will consider the state's restrictive law, which opponents and advocates alike agree is almost impossible to square with precedent. By Robert Barnes ●  Read more »   Rep. Ilhan Omar calls for 'appropriate action' to be taken against Rep. Lauren Boebert after she shared anti-Muslim story By Mariana Alfaro ●  Read more »   As Afghanistan's economy collapses, international community looks for innovative ways to avoid humanitarian disaster A U.N. program supporting health clinics could provide a model for injecting cash into the economy while bypassing the interim Taliban government. By Susannah George and Karen DeYoung ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out The Climate 202 for a daily guide to climate news and policy. Sign up »

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