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Vice President Kamala Harris had the privilege of swearing in another new crop of U.S. Senators on Friday. But one person was having a rough day.

New Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) — who defeated far-right MAGA ally Kari Lake in November — brought his baby daughter and son Michael to the swearing-in ceremony. The boy told Harris, "I'm sorry you didn't win."

Judge Juan Merchan has called on the President-elect to appear in New York court — in person or virtually — to be sentenced in his hush-money case, in which Trump was found guilty on 34 counts, The Associated Press reported Friday afternoon.

Merchan noted that Trump remains a private citizen until noon on Jan. 20.

ABC News is reporting that MAGA loyalist Rep. Virginia Foxx appeared to fall down the stairs at the U.S. Capitol on Friday after the vote for House speaker.

According to reporter John R. Parkinson, Foxx was holding her nose while bleeding and "receiving medical attention."

President-elect Donald Trump worked in the background to stop the House GOP insurrection against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman reported on Friday.

Johnson, who is facing one of the narrowest House majorities in modern history and significant doubt from observers about his future, was saved in a surprise move as two House Republicans who had rejected him on the first vote abruptly switched to backing him, giving him just enough votes to be confirmed for the next Congress.

President-elect Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Friday to complain that the American flag will be flown at half-staff for his inauguration due to the period of mourning for the recently deceased former President Jimmy Carter.

In the immediate aftermath of Carter's passing, Trump actually surprised some observers — and annoyed his own supporters — with a heartfelt tribute to the 100-year-old former president, who was controversial in his day but became beloved in his later years for his devotion to charitable causes around the world.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) managed to defeat a GOP rebellion and retain his position on Friday afternoon, following an initial vote in which a small group of Republicans had previously voted against him, reported Politico.

Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Keith Self (R-TX) flipped their votes to back the speaker following a break, according to the report.

Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) attempt to carry over his leadership to the 119th Congress struggled to pass its first vote Friday thanks to three Tea Party Republicans — in a move with strikingly similar parallels to Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) battle for the position in 2023.

Johnson's critics took to social media to mock his difficulties in the first vote as the speaker stormed off the House floor into the cloakroom.

During 2024's U.S. presidential race, Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that the country's economy was in terrible shape and that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were to blame. But even though inflation has been a source of frustration for many Americans, the U.S. has enjoyed low unemployment rates during the Biden era.

On December 6, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent.

UPDATE: During a long break, Mike Johnson managed to convince Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Keith Self (R-TX) to change their votes, returning him to the speakership.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) had hoped to win the speakership easily in the first round of voting.