NEW YORK REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES is the new HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS CHAIRMAN, the first injection of new blood into the top rung of Democratic leadership in some time.

— JEFFRIES, a 48-year-old who represents Brooklyn and Queens, is the second African-American in leadership, along with SOUTH CAROLINA REP. JIM CLYBURN. His youth could be helpful in calming the nerves about an aging majority leadership, with the top officials in their upper 70s. On the other hand, JEFFRIES was born in 1970. He won 123-113.

HE WILL AUTOMATICALLY become talked about as a potential future speaker — something that’s already been happening. More from Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan

KEEP IN MIND … HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS elections are going to stretch until this evening.

BURGESS EVERETT: “Republicans fear they’re squandering lame duck”: “Leaders are eager to ink deals, ousted members want to get out of town, and rank-and-file senators are particularly aware of their leverage to slow things down to get what they want. …

“But with a Democratic House takeover imminent, [Ted] Cruz argues that Republicans should simply focus on getting as much done as possible. He’s not alone: Republicans are variously arguing that from the border wall to criminal justice reform to trade, the outcomes are about to get a whole lot worse for their party in January if they don’t act now. …

“No final decision has been made, but Senate Republicans are anticipating being in town until about Dec. 14, according to senators and aides, leaving time for perhaps one extra ambitious agenda item.” POLITICO

Good Wednesday afternoon. WHAT’S ON THE PRESIDENT’S MIND — @realDonaldTrump at 8:39 a.m.: “While the disgusting Fake News is doing everything within their power not to report it that way, at least 3 major players are intimating that the Angry Mueller Gang of Dems is viciously telling witnesses to lie about facts & they will get relief. This is our Joseph McCarthy Era!”

… at 9:43 a.m.: “The reason that the small truck business in the U.S. is such a go to favorite is that, for many years, Tariffs of 25% have been put on small trucks coming into our country. It is called the ‘chicken tax.’ If we did that with cars coming in, many more cars would be built here…..”

… at 9:49 a.m.: “…..and G.M. would not be closing their plants in Ohio, Michigan & Maryland. Get smart Congress. Also, the countries that send us cars have taken advantage of the U.S. for decades. The President has great power on this issue — Because of the G.M. event, it is being studied now!”

… at 11:09 a.m.: “Steel Dynamics announced that it will build a brand new 3 million ton steel mill in the Southwest that will create 600 good-paying U.S. JOBS. Steel JOBS are coming back to America, just like I predicted. Congratulations to Steel Dynamics!”

ALEX GUILLÉN: “EPA chief: Trump administration may intervene in next climate study”

A NEW MAN AT MAIN JUSTICE? … “Trump Is Said to Feel No Urgency to Choose New Attorney General,” by Bloomberg’s Shannon Pettypiece and Jennifer Jacobs: “President Donald Trump feels no urgency to nominate a new attorney general and is content with Matthew Whitaker in place as acting head of the Department, said people familiar with his deliberations.

“He isn’t concerned by demands to move quickly to nominate a successor to fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions from key Republican senators including Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham, who is set to take over the panel in January, the people said. Trump has had conversations with many advisers about potential nominees, but no clear frontrunner has emerged … He’s been satisfied with Whitaker’s performance and that is one reason for his unhurried pace.” Bloomberg

WAR REPORT — “Trump’s envoy ‘tests all channels’ with Afghan Taliban in bid to launch peace talks,” by NBC’s Dan De Luce, Mushtaq Yusufzai, Courtney Kube and Josh Lederman: “[U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s] outreach included a meeting in the United Arab Emirates with a militant claiming to be an associate of Mullah Yaqub, son of late Taliban leader Mullah Omar and now one of two deputies to the current Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, two foreign diplomats said. …

“Although it remained unclear if the Taliban member was indeed a representative sent by Yaqub, the meeting reflected how Khalilzad is moving with a sense of urgency and casting a wide net to try to persuade different elements of the insurgency to come to the table to talk peace, former officials said.” NBC

THE LATEST ON YEMEN — ELANA SCHOR: “Senators eye shutoff for Saudis in Yemen”: “A bipartisan Senate bid to yank U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-backed war in Yemen is close to a key victory … Supporters of the measure could notch a major win once the vote takes place, as soon as this week, given lawmakers’ pent-up interest in pushing back after Khashoggi’s killing. But much likely depends on what Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tell senators during a private meeting slated for Wednesday. …

“Even if the Yemen resolution clears its first hurdle, however, its prospects for ultimately clearing both chambers of Congress remain dim at best.” POLITICO

— TOP-ED … SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO in WSJ: “The U.S.-Saudi Partnership Is Vital: We don’t condone Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. But the kingdom is a powerful force for Mideast stability”: WSJ

DEEP DIVE — WAPO’S DAVID IGNATIUS: “The Khashoggi killing had roots in a cutthroat Saudi family feud”: “The cutthroat scheming within the House of Saud over the following years matches anything in the fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones.’ The fallout extended to the United States, China, Switzerland and other countries, as the two most powerful clans of the royal family jockeyed for power. … MBS, as Salman’s son is known, became increasingly anxious and aggressive toward those he considered enemies. …

“It helps explain the vortex of rage and lawlessness that ultimately sucked in Khashoggi, a Post Global Opinions columnist, when he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.” WaPo

CASH DASH — “Democrats’ campaign machine won the House — and left them $18 million in debt,” by NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald: “The new leader of the [DCCC], who is slated to be chosen Wednesday in the party’s internal elections, will inherit $18 million in debt from this year’s midterms … The [NRCC] also spent heavily this year as it fought to defend the GOP majority, taking out a $12 million line of credit that still has to be paid off, according to the committee’s communications director, Matt Gorman.” NBC

THE INVESTIGATIONS … “Jerome Corsi Says Roger Stone Sought ‘Cover Story’ for 2016 Tweet,” by WSJ’s Shelby Holliday and Peter Nicholas: “Conservative activist Jerome Corsi, a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, said Tuesday he told a federal grand jury he helped longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone create a ‘cover story’ for a 2016 tweet that appeared to foreshadow email releases by WikiLeaks. Mr. Stone’s tweet on Aug. 21 of that year read: ‘Trust me, it will soon the Podesta’s time in the barrel.’ … He said in an interview Tuesday that Mr. Stone called him on Aug. 30, 2016—nine days after the tweet—and asked Mr. Corsi for help in creating an ‘alternative explanation’ for it.

“Shortly after that conversation, Mr. Corsi said he began writing a memo for Mr. Stone about Mr. Podesta’s business dealings. … ‘What I construct, and what I testified to to the grand jury, was I believed I was creating a cover story for Roger, because Roger wanted to explain this tweet,’ Mr. Corsi said. ‘By the way, the special counsel knew this. They can virtually tell my keystrokes on that computer.’” WSJ

— CAITLIN OPRYSKO and MARIANNE LEVINE: “Republicans block Mueller protection bill from Senate floor vote”

— NPR’S CARRIE JOHNSON (@johnson_carrie): “Just in: Judge Amy Berman Jackson sets a scheduling conference for Friday at 9:30am in the Paul Manafort case.”

ATTN. WHITE HOUSE — NBC’S RICHARD ENGEL and CORKY SIEMASZKO in Kiev, Ukraine: “In interview, Ukrainian president asks Trump to deliver pointed message to Putin”: “The president of Ukraine has a message that he wants President Donald Trump to personally deliver to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the upcoming G-20 summit in Argentina:

“‘Please, get out from Ukraine, Mr. Putin,’ Petro Poroshenko said Tuesday. … The Ukrainian leader also told NBC News that his country is ready to cooperate with the investigation of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who spent nearly a decade in Ukraine as a consultant to a pro-Moscow political party. But asked if the Ukraine has any evidence that Manafort was getting paid directly by the Kremlin, Poroshenko said, ‘I am not personally connected with the process.’” NBC

FOR YOUR RADAR — Ivanka Trump is on the Hill today at the invitation of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advocating for the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018, according to a White House spokesperson.

YIKES … “How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime,” by the Miami Herald’s Julie Brown: “[C]ourt records reveal details of the negotiations and the role that [Alexander] Acosta would play in arranging the deal, which scuttled the federal probe into a possible international sex trafficking operation. Among other things, Acosta allowed [Jeffrey] Epstein’s lawyers unusual freedoms in dictating the terms of the non-prosecution agreement. …

“As a result, neither the victims — nor even the judge — would know how many girls Epstein allegedly sexually abused between 2001 and 2005, when his underage sex activities were first uncovered by police.” Miami Herald

AT THE BORDER … PROPUBLICA’S GINGER THOMPSON: “Families Are Still Being Separated at the Border, Months After ‘Zero Tolerance’ Was Reversed: Immigration lawyers say border agents are again removing children from their parents. The explanation? They’re protecting kids from criminal dads and moms. Immigration advocates say it’s zero tolerance by another name.” ProPublica

HMM … WAPO’S SEUNG MIN KIM: “Senate panel delays vote on Trump pick to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement”: “Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the committee’s chairman, said the vote on [Ronald] Vitiello was being delayed so that senators could perform ‘due diligence’ into … concerns raised by unions representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. One issue they raised in a letter to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is Vitiello apparently sharing images of Trump on Twitter that compare the president to the cartoon character Dennis the Menace.” WaPo

BOOK WATCH — AP’S HILLEL ITALIE: “Former CIA head John O. Brennan writing memoir, due in 2020”

— ISAAC DOVERE inked a deal with Viking to write “You Are Right to Be Concerned: Democrats in Crisis in the Trump Years.”

MEDIAWATCH — FROM MORNING MEDIA: “Leon Neyfakh, who has spent four years at Slate and launched the breakout ‘Slow Burn’ podcast, is leaving the site to launch his own operation and new show, ‘Fiasco.’ Neyfakh said the first season of ‘Fiasco,’ on Bush v. Gore, will be out in the first half of 2019; next, he plans to tackle the Iran-Contra scandal.”

SPOTTED: Ivanka Trump on Tuesday on Delta 1776 in a connecting flight from MSP to DCA.

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a reception for new members of Congress on Tuesday night hosted by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Brady PAC at Bullfeathers Restaurant: Steny Hoyer, Salud Carbajal, Val Demings, Ruben Gallego, Susie Lee, Sharice Davids, Katie Hill, Brian Fitzpatrick, Gil Cisneros, Jason Crow, Mike Levin, Donna Shalala, Dean Phillips, Tom Malinowski, Madeleine Dean, Colin Allred, Kim Schrier, Kris Brown and Kyleanne Hunter.

— SPOTTED at an event for incoming Congressional Black Caucus women on Tuesday hosted by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.): Rep.-elects Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

— Pool report from “retiring House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce’s portrait unveiling at the National Archives yesterday evening — remarks by Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Eliot Engel, Royce Chief of Staff Amy Porter and Nancy Pelosi; a tribute video featuring U2’s Bono produced by Royce’s media consultant Bob Honold entertained the crowd of nearly 400.”

SPOTTED: Joe Wilson, Tom Davis and Howard Berman, along with dozens of Royce staff past and present including: Peter Freeman, Sara Catalan, Tom Sheehy, Cory Fritz, Saat Alety, Josh Saltzman and Jonathan Swann.

SPOTTED: Judge Merrick Garland at The University Club, where Justice Elena Kagan presented him the Harvard Club of D.C.’s Elliot Richardson 2018 Public Service Award.

TRANSITIONS — Catherine Hill will be head of communications at Meetup, owned by WeWork. She most recently served as a director at Brunswick Group. … Matt Chandler will be a senior director at BPI. He previously was a partner at Frontier Solutions.

… Lindley Kratovil Sherer will join Invariant. She previously was chief of staff for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). … Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall will join the board of directors and Lynn Rusten will be VP of Global Nuclear Policy Program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Sherwood-Randall was deputy energy secretary in the Obama administration and Rusten is a State alum.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Shelly Banjo, a tech reporter at Bloomberg and a WSJ and Quartz alum, and Steven Russolillo, global markets reporter at WSJ, welcomed Jonah Nick Russolillo. Pic

WEEKEND WEDDING — Former Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.), now president and CEO of the Porter Group, married Kristin McMillan, former CEO of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, in a small ceremony in the Capitol at sunset. Pool report: “After the ceremony and photos, there was a party with 150 guests on the rooftop terrace at 101 Constitution Avenue NW. Music was provided by a band from the Music Maker Relief Foundation, which Porter has worked with since his congressional days and Carl Cameron spoke during the toast.” Pic

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For the last two years, congressional Republicans have persuaded President Donald Trump to delay the fight to fund his border wall, convincing him he would pay a steep political price for such a high-stakes legislative brawl.

Trump is done waiting.

Story Continued Below

Nine days ahead of a deadline that could trigger a partial government shutdown, with no solution in sight, the president told POLITICO in a Tuesday Oval Office interview that he is unflinchingly firm Congress must send him a bill approving $5 billion for his wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and said he would “totally be willing” to shut down the government if he doesn’t get it. Democratic leaders — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — have said they would approve $1.6 billion for the wall, placing the two sides billions of dollars apart as the lame-duck session begins.

Raising the stakes even higher for the GOP, Trump said the $5 billion would only cover the physical border. “The number is larger for border security,” he said.

Sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, with a stack of papers, magazines and a soda at the ready, Trump said he now believes that a pitched battle over the border is a “total winner” politically for his party, and a loser for Democrats.

“I don’t do anything … just for political gain,” Trump said. “But I will tell you, politically speaking, that issue is a total winner. People look at the border, they look at the rush to the police, they look at the rock throwers and really hurting three people, three very brave border patrol folks — I think that it’s a tremendous issue, but much more importantly, is really needed. So we have to have border security.”

Trump was referring to a confrontation at the southern border on Sunday in which some migrants threw rocks at U.S. Border Patrol officers, although his claim that three were seriously hurt is unsubstantiated.

His insistence on $5 billion for the wall — “I am firm,” he said — does suggest a real risk of a partial government shutdown. Congress must pass seven appropriations bills by next Friday, or risk a lapse of funding that would interrupt operations at the Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department, State Department and other federal agencies. Democrats will take control over a slice of Washington in 37 days, the first time they’ve controlled any lever of power in Trump’s Washington.

But Trump has made similar threats before, only to abandon his negotiating red lines.

His brinksmanship was also a contrast to his suggestion in a Tuesday interview with the Washington Post that he might turn to a backup plan, involving more physical security at the U.S.-Mexico border, if Congress rejects his funding demands.

Congress has a long to-do list for the next month, including the farm bill, the Violence Against Women Act and government funding.

House Republican leaders met with the president at the White House Tuesday afternoon, but their plan to fund the wall was not immediately clear. GOP sources say they believe Democrats will want to strike a deal so they start 2019 with a fresh spending slate. But with Nancy Pelosi battling for the speakership, and many Democrats in no mood for compromise, an accord seems far off.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters at the White House after the meeting that “the president has been very clear that he needs $5 billion to properly secure the border. We need to be there for him and make sure this gets signed.”

Trump also signaled he was in no mood to strike a large-scale immigration deal with Democrats. Asked if he was open to a compromise to legalize so-called Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children — the president said he would prefer to wait for court challenges to wrap up. He predicted the legality of the Obama-era program to defer deportations would be decided by the Supreme Court, which the Justice Department recently said it would soon petition for a ruling.

If the court determined DACA is illegal, Trump said he’d be willing to make a deal on “border security and everything else.”

“I have big heart for DACA,” he said. “I want to be able to keep them. But if the court rules properly, there will be no problem with DACA and we’ll get everything solved. If the court rules in favor of Obama having that right, it’s going to be a disaster because we will get nothing, we will get nothing done.”