Good Thursday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today.
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• President Trump forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, ending a partnership that soured almost from the start, in part because of Mr. Sessions’s recusal from the Russia inquiry. Mr. Trump tapped Matthew Whitaker, Mr. Sessions’s chief of staff, as acting attorney general.
• The move raised immediate questions about how the special counsel’s Russia inquiry would be affected. Here’s what the shake-up means.
• Mr. Trump offered to work with the Democrats who gained control of the House, but threatened to retaliate if they use their new power to investigate him.
• A cascade of contradictory verdicts in the midterm elections added up to a portrait of a nation at odds with itself. Here’s what the results tell us.
• Despite warnings from within the G.O.P., Republicans’ lack of unity and grip on messaging contributed to their loss of House control. Here’s more on how it happened.
• Democrats plan to use their first month in the House majority to…
