Good morning. At 78, Brenda Lee is officially the oldest artist ever to top the Billboard charts. She recorded "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in 1958 at just 13 years old (no, that is not a grown woman’s voice). Her song's 65-year wait between release and hitting number one is the longest ever. Her last chart-topper came in 1960. That 63-year delay is yet another record.

Also, on this day in 1790, the U.S. Congress moved from New York to Philadelphia. They didn’t settle in D.C. until 1800.

We’ve got a lot in store for you today:

• Republicans debate again

• Over 400 promotions for Christmas

• A Cuban spy gets caught

• And much more!

Here’s today’s edition of The Elective:

 2024 

Republican candidates debate again tonight

The fourth Republican presidential debate is tonight. This will be the smallest bout yet with just four candidates on stage. The mud slinging runs from 8-10 p.m. EST on cable network News Nation (that is, the artist formerly known as WGN).

Who’s in? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy made the cut. Christie hit the requisite polling numbers just two days ago. If anyone misses out on a possible fifth outing in January, it’s going to be him.

• DeSantis: If he doesn't win Iowa, his goose might be cooked. He's still the leading non-Trump there. But Haley's close on his tail.

• Haley: She's on the upswing after winning Koch network support ($$$). And she's the leading non-Trump in New Hampshire. But Christie's eating into her support.

• Christie: He's playing almost exclusively in New Hampshire. His only hope is to squeeze out a win there. To do that, he needs to take Haley down.

• Ramaswamy: He's in fourth or fifth place in both early states. If history is any guide, he's going after Haley like the rest of them.

Trump’s currently blowing them all out of the water. They each need to shatter the illusion of his inevitability by winning an early state. But this is a political prisoner’s dilemma.

Who's out? The elephant not in the room, former President Trump, will attend a campaign fundraiser in Florida. Avoiding debates is a tried-and-true strategy for politicians in his position. If you believe you’re in a strong first place, debating can only harm your position. Due to his huge 48% polling lead, Trump continues to call on the Republican National Committee to cancel all remaining debates.

Future: The Iowa caucuses are just over a month away. With only four candidates on stage, perhaps genuine policy discussions will emerge. Or maybe they'll call each other "scum," performatively smile too much, and argue about curtains again. Unless you're related to one of these people, watching "Christmas Vacation" again would be a better use of two hours (it’s streamable on Max).

 CONGRESS 

🪖 Military: The Senate confirmed over 400 military promotions yesterday hours after Sen. Tommy Tuberville released his holds on them. He's faced bipartisan pressure to lift the holds over national security concerns. Last year, the Department of Defense announced it would pay travel costs for service members who need to cross state lines get abortions. Tuberville initiated the holds as a strategy to end that policy (spoiler alert: it didn’t work). High-level military promotions need Senate confirmation. And Senate rules allow a single senator to freeze them for any reason. The Senate can break a single hold within days. But, barring a rule change (as if), breaking hundreds would’ve require months of 24/7 continuous debate. Tuberville released the holds on everyone except "10 or 11 four-stars."

🇺🇦 Ukraine: U.S. funding for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year. And the Biden administration says that will “kneecap” Ukraine on the battlefield. Republican leaders in Congress — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell — continue to condition new funding for Ukraine on extra border security funding and changes to asylum policy. But Democrats aren’t budging on that.

🇮🇱 Israel: The House passed a resolution condemning the rise of antisemitism around the globe. A resolution like this is more of an official statement than a law. It passed with broad bipartisan support despite about half of Democrats taking issue with part of the bill’s phrasing.

 POLITICS 

🔴 North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum dropped out of the Republican presidential race this week. His estimated $1.1 billion tech fortune wasn't enough to overcome the lack of non-Trump oxygen in the race. His polling never broke out of low single digits. Burgum slammed the Republican Party’s debate inclusion rules and associated media circus. He qualified for the first two debates but missed the third and was set to miss the fourth tonight. But hey, quitting in early December worked out pretty well for Kamala Harris. In dropping out, Burgum endorsed the same candidate Tim Scott and Mike Pence backed when they left the race: no one.

🔵 Vice President Kamala Harris made history yesterday. The vice presidency is a strange job with few official duties. Until the 1970s, the VP didn’t even get an official residence or an office in the White House. Part of the job is to cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate. Harris has now done that 33 times — more than any other VP. On a vote confirming a federal judge, she broke John C. Calhoun’s 1832 record of 31 tie-breakers. For comparison, vice presidents from 1961-2021 cast a total of just 39.

🔴 Former temporary speaker of the House Patrick McHenry is out. The guy who presided over the House during the speaker debacle in October will not run for reelection. Herding 435 cats Serving as speaker for even 22 days is apparently bad enough to drive a lifelong politician out of office for good. McHenry served as the first ever House speaker pro tempore for 22 days after the House overthrew then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McHenry's district is strongly Republican, so the GOP’s in no danger of losing it in next year's election.

🔵 Caddo Parrish, LA made news last month when its election for sheriff was decided by one single solitary vote. Now a state judge has vacated that result and called for a new election. An investigation found 11 votes were cast illegally “beyond any doubt.” Normally, 11 fraudulent votes would be no big deal. But that number is larger than the margin. So a new election it is.

 TRIVIA 

 WORLD 

🇻🇪 Tensions are high in South America. With over 95% support, Venezuelans just voted to annex two-thirds of neighboring Guyana. Guyana's economy is the fastest growing in the world in large part due to newly-discovered oil in Essequbio, the region in question. They've controlled it since 1899. Venezuelan dictator President Nicolas Maduro pushed the plan but his critics say it's a distraction from their calls for free and fair elections. The U.S. considers his regime corrupt, undemocratic, and illegitimate. Obviously, Guyana's not taking this lying down — the former British territory is vowing to protect its borders at all cost.

🇧🇷 ChatGPT is writing laws now. The city council of Porto Alegre, Brazil (population 1.3 million) unanimously passed a proposal dealing with the replacement of water meters. Only the bill’s author (“author”) knew of its AI provenance...until he bragged about it on social media last week. Despite its secret origin, the new law isn’t going anywhere. The city council’s president decried the deceit but said “unfortunately or fortunately” AI-generated legislation “is going to be a trend.”

 BRIEFS 

🇨🇺 The FBI arrested a retired diplomat on charges he spent 40+ years spying for Cuba. Manuel Rocha once served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia. If convicted, he'll likely serve the rest of his life in federal prison.

🤑 Recently expelled Congressman George Santos has a new gig: selling $200 videos on Cameo. HBO and the producer of "Veep" are working on a movie about the Santos saga. The special election to replace him in the House is set for Feb. 13.

🐶 A species thought to be extinct is back from the dead. Last seen in 1936, a type of golden mole native to South Africa was rediscovered thanks to the finely-tuned nose of a border collie named Jessie.

✈️ Alaska Airlines agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. But the deal may have a difficult time getting approved. Federal regulators have been tough on similar deals in the recent past.

🎥 Kim Kardashian cannot be stopped. Fresh of her success in “American Horror Story: Delicate,” she's about to get her own scripted show on Hulu. She will play an L.A. divorce lawyer in a “glossy and sexy adult procedural” drama.

🇮🇪 UFC fighter Conor McGregor hinted (yet again) that he wants to run for president of Ireland in 2025. Ireland's president commands significant legal power but is conventionally a ceremonial role.

 QUOTE 

 ANSWER 

India and Jamaica

Her mother was originally from India. Her father is originally from Jamaica. Both came to the United States for college.