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This is going to be a de-escalatory conversation.

Not an escalatory conversation.

At the end of the week,

Washington empties out.

Fast.

Lawmakers, staffers.

They're all heading home.

But not before they stop here.

The All right. Hello and welcome back to the Punch Bull News, Tannos, for another episode of Flyout Day, G.

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving recess, carboloaded, and are ready for the end of the year springtime. Capitol Hill.

No carboluding for me. December is already crazy.

And I'm like, holy Lord, I feel like I need to sleep for a month after this week.

Tuesday was a big election that Republicans won in Tennessee.

Matt Van Epps beat Afton Ben in a district that Donald Trump won by 22.

Van Epps won by less than 10. There's just we've written about this. There's fears in the party about the midterms now. Republicans are taking mostly nothing away from this, which is not surprising. And who knows? I mean, if there are more retirements, this Congress, which there, I mean, MTTG, that has been... That sounds. That's official. That's official. And that's happened since the last time we did the show. She could, if they're more like that, which we have heard that there will be, they're in big trouble. Mike Johnson's in trouble. I mean, to complicate things further, right? We've had a very public rift. At the highest level of the House Republican conference this week, Congresswoman Elise Tophonic engaged in an

open war with the speaker. It's not just his right flank he might be having challenges with.

It's actually a member of his leadership. Yeah, and it's a lot of people, and it's a fight that says

a lot about today's house, to be honest with you, and tight margins are tough. We are going to be joined this morning by very own, Elise Stefanik. The New York congresswoman is going to be talking about why did she tour into him so publicly? We're going to be asking about that and a ton more. A lot more. We're going to ask about defense policy.

We're going to ask about politics. She's running for governor in New York, which is a big job, a big race that's going to be a very expensive race and comes right after Zorn Mamdani won the mayorship of New Yorkster. So is it mayorship? I guess it is. Mayorality. He is the mayor of New York. And after we saw certainly President Donald Trump give them, Donnie, a big beer hug in the Oval Office.

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