LIGHT IT UP LIKE DYNAMITE -- Tensions inside the Democratic party are boiling over and spilling out into public view. The latest shots came from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y), who responded to a report from Heather and Sarah that fellow New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries asked other top Dems on a private leadership call: “Do we want to govern or do we want to be internet celebrities?”

AOC’s response: “Pretty astounding that some Dems don’t believe it’s possible to govern, be politically popular, and command formidable bully pulpits at the same time, but it actually explains a lot about how we got here,” she tweeted. “We don’t have to choose between these things! We can do better and win!”

That got your Huddle host thinking: At what point, if ever, do progressives form a Freedom Caucus of the left? The conservative group wielded immense power (and created quite a few headaches for leadership) when the GOP held the majority, by sticking together as a voting bloc and bending the party to their will.

And progressives have shown interest in flexing their muscles next year. The Congressional Progressive Caucus recently adopted some major reforms intended to centralize its growing power in Washington. Among the changes: new rules on attendance and voting, as well as eliminating the second co-chair position.

Plus, with Dems likely to have a thinner caucus next year (leadership will probably only have a five- to 10-seat majority), it actually wouldn’t take much for progressives to be powerful. And the four-member “squad” is set to expand its ranks next year with the additions of Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman and Ritchie Torres.

But squad members have shown varying degrees of willingness to play hard ball. And they might not want to be seen as obstructionist when Dems finally have the White House. As former Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows once told your Huddle host, they would have to be willing to completely “burn the ships down” in order to be successful.

And so far, most progressives do not appear to be at that point. (In fact, some have directly said they don’t want to be the Democratic version of the Freedom Caucus.) But that could change, depending on how leadership navigates the party’s civil war, who Joe Biden taps to serve in his Cabinet and administration, and which policies party leaders decide to pursue.

Related read: “What Planet Is AOC On?,” from John Harris: https://politi.co/35nYaSw.

HOTLANTA -- The battle over a pair of Senate runoff races in Georgia is heating up. And with control of the Senate hanging in the balance, Republicans are trying to use Chuck Schumer as a boogeyman in the campaign. The GOP has been blasting out a video clip of Schumer celebrating Biden’s victory with a cheering crowd in Brooklyn, where he yelled: “Now we take Georgia, then we change America!”

More broadly, Republicans are arguing that a GOP Senate will be the last line of defense against a Biden presidency. But a new Georgia ad from Republicans doesn’t even mention Biden by name: it only name checks Schumer, AOC and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Much more from Marc Caputo and James Arkin, reporting from Atlanta: https://politi.co/36sTr1l.

Georgia is also becoming a stage for possible 2024 contenders. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) spoke at an indoor (and largely maskless) “Save Our Majority” rally yesterday, where he warmed up the crowd with some dad jokes. “I’m a little jealous because I gotta tell you, this is supposed to be Florida’s job to have a tight election — you’re stealing our spotlight,” he said.

In an interview with Axios, Rubio said he is leaving the door open to a 2024 bid. And he also said Republicans need to “rebrand their party as the champions of working-class voters and steer away from its traditional embrace of big business,” writes Alayna Treene. More from her interview: https://bit.ly/2Uk3ZKj.

Related read: “An early poll of Georgia’s twin Senate runoffs shows tight races,” via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein: https://bit.ly/3eQciHg.

THE TIME HAS COME -- While Republicans are still publicly supporting Donald Trump’s long-shot bid to contest the election results, we’re starting to see more Republicans come to terms with the reality of a Biden presidency. Yesterday, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said it’s time for Biden to start receiving intelligence briefings.

His comments come amid growing concern that Trump’s refusal to concede (and allow a formal transition to begin) could hinder national security and the nation’s pandemic response. “There is no loss from him getting the briefings and to be able to do that,” Lankford told radio station KRMG. “This needs to occur so that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for that actual task.” More from CNN’s Alison Main and Carolina Kelly: https://cnn.it/3lqqDwv.

And in a now deleted tweet, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel suggested that the reason the GOP needs to win the Georgia runoff races is because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be the deciding vote in a tied 50-50 Senate. The tweet (h/t Bloomberg’s Ryan Teague Beckwith.)

Related read: “McConnell treads cautiously in Trump’s post-election fight,” from The Hill’s Alexander Bolton: https://bit.ly/2JQT74D.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Nov. 12, where your host is still overjoyed from last night’s premier of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” (This is my sports, don’t @ me.)

WEDNESDAY’S MOST CLICKED: The Hill’s report on Republicans who could serve in the Biden administration was the big winner.

POST-MORTEM -- The biggest surprise on Nov. 3 wasn’t the outcome of the presidential race or even the cliffhanger in the battle for the Senate. The biggest shock was how the GOP actually picked up seats in the House, putting Dems on track to have their slimmest majority in decades.

So who were the most surprising House Democrats that went down last week — and what does that say about what went wrong for the party overall? At the top of Ally Mutnick’s list is Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), who lost to Republican Maria Elvira Salazar, a former Telemundo anchor. “Going into 2020, the DCCC didn’t even place Shalala in its ‘Frontline’ program for endangered incumbents, and the district saw hardly any outside spending on TV,” notes Ally. Much more: https://politi.co/36r5oo4.

ALASKAN OF THE WEEK -- “GOP’s Sullivan defeats Gross in Alaska Senate race,” from Eleanor Mueller: https://politi.co/3pqdPsG.

MEET THE NEW CONGRESS -- Registration for new member orientation begins today. So what better time to learn about the incoming freshman class? Among the new faces coming to Congress: a retired astronaut, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, an ex-college football coach, a QAnon supporter, Trump’s former doctor and many more Republican women. A full breakdown from WSJ’s Natalie Andrews: https://on.wsj.com/32Eskz3.

Related read: “Next Congress will have fewer veterans, but they could wield power,” by Roll Call’s Mark Satter: https://bit.ly/2GSKMfF.

INVESTIGATION NATION -- Lawmakers in both parties and chambers are vowing to press ahead with their Trump-era investigations. More from Kyle and Andrew: “Donald Trump will be a private citizen in January. But Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are poised to carry on the investigations and legal battles that helped define his presidency.

“In the House, Democrats are still in court fighting to obtain Trump’s financial records and testimony from his first White House counsel Don McGahn, a key figure in the obstruction of justice case against Trump.

“In the Senate, where GOP control hinges on two Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia, Republican lawmakers are plotting ways to expand and intensify their investigations targeting the former Obama administration and President-elect Joe Biden and his son Hunter, with Senate Republicans saying they will use the lame duck period to ramp up their probes.” More: https://politi.co/3ppeSZB.

CABINET WATCH -- “‘I’ve been very, very loyal’: Marcia Fudge makes the case for Ag secretary,” via Natasha Korecki, Helena Bottemiller Evich and Liz Crampton: https://politi.co/2UxZITX.

JOCKEYING JAMS -- The House’s leadership elections will take place next week. And, as Playbook reported this morning, the Democrats will hold their elections virtually. Think: voting through an app and giving presentations via Zoom.

A contested race to keep an eye on: vice chair, one of the few open caucus seats in next week’s Democratic leadership elections. And the New Democrat Coalition is throwing its weight behind Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) for the post, reports Sarah.

Leaders of the New Dems — the largest ideological caucus — sent a letter to members Wednesday endorsing Aguilar for vice chair, noting that he would be the only Latino in leadership and represents a purple district. Aguilar is running against Reps. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Deb Haaland (D-N.M.).

Meanwhile … from Caitlin Emma (@caitlinzemma) “Rep. Rosa DeLauro is stepping aside from her position as co-chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, which recommends committee assignments to the House Democratic caucus, since she’s running for House Appropriations chair. Rep. Cheri Bustos will fill the vacancy.”

STIMULUS STALEMATE -- “Coronavirus stimulus negotiations in a ‘lame duck’ session likely to face more deadlock,” by USA TODAY’s Nicholas Wu and Christal Hayes: https://bit.ly/3nhXGn7.

TRANSITIONS

Bill Ball joined Foley & Lardner LLP as public affairs director in its Government Solutions Practice Group. Most recently, Ball served as the deputy staff director for the House Natural Resources Committee.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House is out.

The Senate meets at 11 a.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Aileen Mercedes Cannon to be U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Florida. At noon, the Senate will vote on a motion to invoke cloture on the Cannon nomination. At 1:45 p.m., if cloture is invoked on the Cannon nomination, the Senate will vote on confirmation of the Cannon nomination.

AROUND THE HILL

Member-elect new member orientation check-in and program registration begins at 9 a.m. at the Hyatt Capitol Hill.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hold a press conference at 10:15 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) holds his weekly press conference at 11 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

TRIVIA

WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: John Grotta was the first person to guess that Albert Gallatin is the statue in front of the Department of Treasury building and he was from Geneva.

TODAY’S QUESTION: From John: In a highly contested election, which President preceded and was succeeded by a President from the same State? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess to [email protected].

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