Friday, November 13, 2026 Vol. I · No. 23 · Afternoon Edition Print size
Election 2026 494 of 505 races called See the results → The GOP Files Receipts on the Republican-run Washington · Sourced · Dated · On the record On Instagram 5.6M plays and counting @thegopfiles →
The Wire
Navy quietly fired submarine and destroyer leaders, Democrats say Congress was not told Miller memo requires White House staff to get counsel's approval before meeting lobbyists DOJ memo tells federal agencies to put English first and cut other languages On tape: Trump's Jan. 6 pardons told ICE it was beyond the law, Rep. Al Green says on the House floor Garcia calls Blanche's warning a threat; DOJ chief cites Constitution Bessent says Treasury wanted Megaspeed blacklisted, but 'Commerce has the pen' Postal Service to raise package prices Jan. 17 after $6.5 billion loss Trump's Medicare agency extends freeze on new hospices and home health agencies to May IRS raises 401(k) limit to $25,500 for 2027, with $11,750 catch-up for ages 60 to 63 On tape: Cory Booker tells Kash Patel a federal judge vowed to toss subpoenas for reporters' phone records Navy quietly fired submarine and destroyer leaders, Democrats say Congress was not told Miller memo requires White House staff to get counsel's approval before meeting lobbyists DOJ memo tells federal agencies to put English first and cut other languages On tape: Trump's Jan. 6 pardons told ICE it was beyond the law, Rep. Al Green says on the House floor Garcia calls Blanche's warning a threat; DOJ chief cites Constitution Bessent says Treasury wanted Megaspeed blacklisted, but 'Commerce has the pen' Postal Service to raise package prices Jan. 17 after $6.5 billion loss Trump's Medicare agency extends freeze on new hospices and home health agencies to May IRS raises 401(k) limit to $25,500 for 2027, with $11,750 catch-up for ages 60 to 63 On tape: Cory Booker tells Kash Patel a federal judge vowed to toss subpoenas for reporters' phone records

Congress Watch · Report · File No. 261113-432

Axios: Senate Democrats may find unlikely allies among MAGA-aligned Republicans

Democrats are on track to need only four Republican votes to break filibusters next Congress. Axios says a populist GOP bloc, including Sen. Josh Hawley, could supply them on health care and corporate power.

By the Capitol Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Josh Hawley
Josh Hawley. Photo: Office of Senator Josh Hawley, Public domain

Senate Democrats could find some of their most surprising allies in the next Congress on the right wing of the Republican Party, Axios reported Friday 1. The report points to Republicans who share an appetite for taking on corporate power 1.

The math is the reason this matters. Axios says Democrats are on track to need only four Republican votes to break filibusters next Congress 1. A filibuster is a Senate tactic that lets a minority of senators block a bill unless supporters can gather enough votes to end debate.

Hawley and Warren already work together

Axios singles out Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican. It says he has co-led several pieces of legislation this Congress with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat 1. Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, appears in the story's photo with Hawley 1.

Their record gives a sense of the common ground. On March 26, Warren and Hawley introduced the Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting Act of 2026 2. It would bar large defense contractors from buying back their own stock or paying dividends, and it would limit executive pay above $5 million. A Secretary of Defense waiver could allow those practices if a company is meeting the Pentagon's needs 2.

From Channel GOPWarren asks Greer for a tariff refund planElizabeth Warren · 180 plays · captioned, with the source named
Josh Hawley
America's defense contractors should be focused on expanding production, not padding their bottom lines.
Josh Hawley, U.S. senator, Republican-Missouri2

On May 14, the two reintroduced the Patients Before Monopolies Act 3. It would bar companies that own a pharmacy benefit manager or an insurer from also owning a pharmacy 3. Pharmacy benefit managers are the middlemen that negotiate drug prices for insurers. Violators would have one year after enactment to sell their pharmacy operations 3.

Elizabeth Warren
It's time we finally rein in the health care middlemen
Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator, Democrat-Massachusetts3

Where Axios says to watch

Axios says to watch health care first, specifically efforts to undo cuts passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and to set drug price controls 1. It also says Social Security and tech safety could become large areas of unexpected bipartisan work 1.

Democrats may also pick up votes from a smaller club of more moderate Republicans. Axios notes there will be fewer of them than in this Congress 1.

Analysis: Shared interest is not the same as a vote. Axios describes possible allies, not commitments, and none of the senators named has promised to back a Democratic bill 1. Hawley and Warren's bills also show their overlap is narrow. Both of the bills above target corporate practices, and neither deals with the larger fights over federal spending 23.

What happens next depends on which bills reach the floor once the new Congress begins. If Democrats need only four Republicans, a handful of populist senators could decide whether health care and drug price bills pass or stall 1.

The Record

  1. Warren and Hawley introduce a bill limiting stock buybacks and executive pay at large defense contractors 2.
  2. Hawley and Warren reintroduce the Patients Before Monopolies Act to separate pharmacies from pharmacy benefit managers and insurers 3.
  3. Axios reports Democrats are on track to need only four GOP votes to break filibusters next Congress 1.
Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

  1. Axios, “Senate Dems can look forward to unlikely MAGA allies” (2026-11-13). axios.com/2026/11/13/senate-democrats-republicans-hawley-mor
  2. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's office, “Warren, Hawley introduce bipartisan bill to limit stock buybacks in defense contracting” (2026-03-26). warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-hawley-intr
  3. Sen. Josh Hawley's office, “Hawley, Warren Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Limit PBMs, Put Patients First” (2026-05-14). hawley.senate.gov/hawley-warren-reintroduce-bipartisan-legis

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.

More from the files

Delivered free to your door*

The Morning Edition

One short email at 7 a.m. Eastern: the day's top files, one clip worth your time, and the race to watch. Plain English, large type, no clutter.

*Your inbox. Free. Unsubscribe with one click, any time.