Rep. Huffman Eyes D.C. Project Oversight as Mississippi Count Narrows

From incoming California-led committee oversight of federal monuments in Washington, D.C. to a Senate medical discharge at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a 2,500-vote margin in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, three Capitol Hill updates shaped the post-election transition on November 7, 2026.

California Rep. Jared Huffman Prepares Oversight as Judge Pauses 250-Foot D.C. Arch for 14 Days

With Democrats set to assume control of the U.S. House and the appropriations process on January 3, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman of California—the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee—pledged to use full committee investigative and oversight authority to examine President Donald Trump’s federal construction projects in the District of Columbia. Those projects include a proposed 250-foot (76-meter) arch in Memorial Circle across the Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial—standing 100 feet (30.48 meters) taller than the Statue of Liberty without its pedestal—alongside a White House ballroom, the National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park, a $257 million Kennedy Center renovation, and an East Potomac Golf Links overhaul whose seawall estimate exceeds $300 million.

Late Thursday night, following a 9.5-hour National Capital Planning Commission meeting that drew more than 120 witnesses giving 3-minute comments, the commission voted 8-4 to grant final approval for the 250-foot arch. Before midnight, however, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking groundbreaking while she considers a consolidated lawsuit brought by 3 veterans, an architectural historian, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. Separately, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes plans to open a formal inquiry into whether administration attorneys crossed ethical boundaries in litigation over the East Potomac golf course, while newly elected Democratic governors in Texas, Georgia, Iowa, and Nevada will oversee more than 600 of the nearly 3,100 National Guard members stationed in Washington since August 2025.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy Discharged From Johns Hopkins Hospital to Rehab Facility

In Senate health news, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, 53, announced Friday that he has been discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital to an inpatient rehabilitation facility and will miss several weeks of Senate votes after calling 911 on October 31 with a small hemorrhagic stroke. Dr. Jose Suarez, chief of neurosciences critical care at Johns Hopkins Hospital, stated that Murphy has shown tremendous progress and is expected to make a full recovery following rehabilitation.

A member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who completed his annual 4-day, 70-mile (113-kilometer) walk across Connecticut in early September and traveled to the Middle East in early October, Murphy had been campaigning in Connecticut for reelected Gov. Ned Lamont and in Minnesota for newly elected Sen. Peggy Flanagan—the nation’s first Native American female U.S. senator—just days before his hospitalization. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who along with Sens. Ben Ray Lujan and Chris Van Hollen recovered from a stroke in 2022, sent well-wishes to Murphy and his family.

Mississippi U.S. Senate Race Between Scott Colom and Cindy Hyde-Smith Separated by 2,500 Votes

Meanwhile, control of a key Southern Senate seat remained uncalled Friday as nearly 2,500 votes separated Democrat Scott Colom and incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi. According to The Associated Press—which revised its statewide estimate of outstanding ballots from 44,000 on Friday morning to roughly 30,000 by 4:45 p.m. ET across Mississippi’s 82 counties—mail-in absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day must be received within 5 business days (by November 10), while county officials have 10 days after the election (until November 13) to report certified results including provisional ballots.

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson reported Thursday that approximately 7,000 provisional ballots had been processed, with about 80% accepted. In Hinds County, where Colom holds a roughly 47,000-vote lead, the AP estimates 7% of ballots remain uncounted (compared with 15% uncounted on election night in 2024 and 12.7% statewide). In Rankin County, where Donald Trump won 73% in 2024 and 23% of ballots were counted after election night that year before reaching 95% 5 days later and the final 5% at certification, county officials reported roughly 2,200 outstanding ballots comprising 1,667 provisional ballots, 282 mail ballots received, and 138 mail ballots outstanding. As ABC7 News noted in its live midterm tally, Mississippi law provides no automatic recount mechanism and does not permit candidates to request a recount absent a court order.