Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest. I’m Abby Livingston, returning with your Sunday preview of everything you need to know about the week ahead in Washington: the Dems’ generational warfare, Gabbard’s Assad problem, Durbin retirement game theory, and much more…

By the way, if you missed yesterday’s special Saturday episode of The Powers That Be, I got on the line with Puck’s executive editor, Ben Landy, to discuss the mounting resistance to Pete Hegseth’s nomination, the latest Democratic infighting, and which G.O.P. senators might throw a wrench in Trump’s transition. Click here to listen.

Let’s jump in…

Now, with Raskin moving over to Judiciary, his top spot on the powerful House Oversight committee is open, setting up another generational fight between (the actually young) A.O.C. and the more senior member Gerry Connolly. Oversight is the House’s main investigative committee, has staggering subpoena power for the majority, and the executive branch is often the sweet spot of its remit. Obviously, the committee’s tendencies depend on which party is in charge of both the House and Oval.

Whether or not one is a fan of A.O.C., she is undeniably an organized and strategic interrogator. If Democrats choose A.O.C. along with Raskin—who has the Judiciary slot locked up—it would signal that public presentation is a priority during their time in the powerless minority.

However, the most interesting leadership race is on the Democratic side, as I previewed on Friday, at the Agriculture Committee of all places. Ag is historically an afterthought in Washington power circles, but the present Democratic battle for ranking membership has morphed into a generational proxy war within the party. Dems still need to fill out their steering committee, and we expect this battle—along with the A.O.C. vs. Connolly showdown—to last into the week of December 16 as well.

Mullin, of course, belongs to a younger generation of Trumpy Senate Republicans, and while he questioned Matt Gaetz’s failed nomination to lead D.O.J., he can be expected to support most of Trump’s picks. More intriguing, perhaps, is the roster of Republicans who stayed off the Sunday shows, including Susan Collins, John Curtis, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and Joni Ernst. This week, at least, these closely watched senators—any four of whom could kill a nominee’s chances—are keeping their hands hidden.

Meanwhile, Trump sat down with Kristen Welker of Meet the Press, reiterating that those convicted for participating in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol will be pardoned. He then added that members of Congress who participated in the January 6 House investigation—specifically former Rep. Liz Cheney—“should go to jail.” Though he said he would not personally direct his putative Justice Department leaders—Pam Bondi for A.G. and Kash Patel at F.B.I.—to take action against them. Trump also restated his support for doing away with birthright citizenship (it’s in the Constitution), but he did express a willingness to work with Democrats on DACA. “We have to do something about the Dreamers because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age,” Trump said. “Many of these are middle-aged people now. They don’t even speak the language of their country. And yes, we’re going to do something about the Dreamers.”

A Durbin retirement would, of course, set off a leadership change in the Senate, and president pro tempore Patty Murray is the obvious contender to watch. She’s the chamber’s most-senior Democrat, has had two successful runs as D.S.C.C. chair, is a savvy, always-on-message tactician, and she’s well-regarded around the Hill. She also briefly flirted with challenging Durbin, in 2016, during the leadership shuffle that followed the late Harry Reid’s retirement. (Another source this morning suggested keeping an eye on Amy Klobuchar, too.)

I reached out to some Illinois insiders, and the Democrats to watch include current House members Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Lauren Underwood, as well as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “Once a couple get in, the dam breaks,” an Illinois Democrat told me this morning. “We expect a robust field because there’s enormous pent-up demand.”

Krishnamoorthi, Kelly, and Underwood all have at least seven figures in cash on hand—usually a tell of Senate ambitions. Krishnamoorthi, specifically, is an astonishing fundraiser, sitting on $18.5 million cash. Such a kingly sum would normally drive senior House Democrats crazy (in their minds, all extra cash should be funneled into the D.C.C.C.), but the third-term congressman raised or donated another $8.6 million to the committee and colleagues.

Underwood, meanwhile, came to Congress as a House frontliner, meaning she muscled through a tough race and is no stranger to a multimillion-dollar campaign price tag. Kelly, for her part, has intrigued me over the past year: Elected in a 2013 special, she eyed a potential leadership race, contingent on Democrats winning back the House. That didn’t come to pass, but the Chicago congresswoman still flexed her fundraising muscles, raising north of $2.5 million for the D.C.C.C. and colleagues. She now has $2 million in cash on hand. So regardless of whether she decides to make another bid for leadership—or considers a Senate run—she’s an increasingly formidable Democratic player.