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Lawfare Daily: Midterm 2026 Debrief, November 5

Benjamin Wittes, Loren Voss, Molly E. Reynolds, Scott R. Anderson, Julia Curlee, Eric Columbus, Michael Feinberg
Thursday, November 5, 2026, 4:42 PM

Listen to the November 4 livestream as a podcast.

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In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes was joined by Contributing Editor Molly Reynolds; Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee; and Senior Editors Scott R. Anderson, Eric Columbus, Michael Feinberg, and Loren Voss. They discussed how the new composition of Congress will shape many of the key national security issues we've been tracking, including the appropriations process and presidential war powers. They discussed what tools may be available to exercise oversight and pursue accountability. And they discussed what priorities the new Congress should consider to remedy the Trump Administration's damage to the national security apparatus.

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Benjamin Wittes

Benjamin Wittes

benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org
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Benjamin Wittes is editor in chief of Lawfare and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books.
Loren Voss

Loren Voss

lorenmvoss
lorenvoss.bsky.social
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Loren Voss is a senior editor at Lawfare and a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund. She most recently served as Director for Defense Policy and Strategy at the National Security Council. She chairs the Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict at the American Society of International Law. Loren previously served as a Defense Department Senior Advisor and on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.
Molly E. Reynolds

Molly E. Reynolds

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Molly Reynolds is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. She studies Congress, with an emphasis on how congressional rules and procedure affect domestic policy outcomes.
Scott R. Anderson

Scott R. Anderson

S_R_Anders
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Scott R. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Lawfare and General Counsel of the Lawfare Institute. He is also a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Non-resident Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Julia Curlee

Julia Curlee

@juliacurlee.bsky.social
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Julia Curlee is a Public Service Fellow at Lawfare and a former CIA analyst with twenty-five years of experience in national security. She served as an NSC director in the Biden and second Trump White Houses and as a PDB briefer to the Vice President. She completed multiple tours in the Middle East and South Asia and served in CIA's China Mission Center. She holds master's degrees from the National War College and American University. The opinions presented here are her own and not those of the U.S. government.
Eric Columbus

Eric Columbus

EricColumbus
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Eric Columbus is a senior editor at Lawfare. He previously served as special litigation counsel at the U.S. House of Representatives’ Office of General Counsel from 2020 to 2023. During the Obama administration, he served in political appointments at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
Michael Feinberg

Michael Feinberg

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Michael Feinberg is a former Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he spent the overwhelming majority of his career combatting the PRC’s intelligence services. He is a recipient and multiple times nominee of the FBI’s highest recognition, the Director’s Award for Excellence, as well as numerous other Bureau honors and ODNI commendations. Prior to his service with the FBI, he was an attorney in both private and public practice. The opinions presented here are entirely his own and not those of the U.S. government.

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