Republicans would not usually need to worry about a special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.

Stretching from the suburbs of Nashville to rural areas on the border of Alabama, the ruby-red district went for Donald Trump by 22 points in the last election and helped launch the career of Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

But the retirement of incumbent Rep. Mark Green has led to the state’s first House special election in four decades today, and the president appears nervous.

On Sunday, Trump claimed on social media without evidence that Democratic state Sen. Aftyn Behn “hates Christianity, will take away your guns, wants Open Borders, Transgender for everybody, men in women’s sports, and openly disdains Country music.”

And Monday night, on the eve of the election, Trump spoke virtually at multiple campaign events for Republican nominee Matt Van Epps, a ratcheting up of his involvement in a race that historically is not competitive.

To be clear, Van Epps is the favorite to win, but Democrats think Behn may be able to cut the margin to perhaps 10 points.

After the party’s successes in November’s elections, that would be yet another sign of a Democratic wave coming in the congressional midterms. 

Read Nnamdi Egwuonwu’s full analysis here.

Congress is back in session, with just weeks to address expiring subsidies for health insurance plans sold on the Affordable Care Act exchanges that have caused skyrocketing premiums for millions of Americans.

Here are some highlights of the president’s actions over the last seven days:

The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles or their fellow Americans. This week’s challenger is Republican state Sen. Mike Bohacek of Indiana.

When Donald Trump was re-elected, an anonymous banker told a reporter for the Financial Times that they felt “liberated” because they could say slurs such as “retard” again “without the fear of getting canceled.” They may have celebrated too soon. On Thanksgiving, Trump went on his Truth Social platform to attack Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as “seriously retarded.” The next day, Bohacek said that as a result he would not support a Trump-led effort to redraw congressional district lines in the state to benefit Republicans. Noting that he has a daughter with Down syndrome, Bohacek wrote on Facebook that it was “not the first time” that Trump had used “insulting and derogatory references.” The Indiana redistricting was already facing a close vote, so Bohacek’s defection could prove decisive. But, as he wrote on Facebook, “words have consequences.” Learn more.

Many people are anxious about the economy. Will inflation keep rising? Will artificial intelligence eat my job? Can I save enough to afford a home? Despite ever-changing tariff policies (that could be found unlawful as early as this month), worries about a stock market bubble and fears of Trump gaining too much control of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy keeps growing. In fact, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development increased its estimate for this year to 2.0%. But the future is less cheery as tariffs remain an issue, and may get worse if the AI boom goes bust. Yet there’s also reason to be optimistic. Trump’s big budget bill could boost economic growth next year by an additional 0.9%. So, are things getting better or worse? It’s enough to make anyone anxious about what comes next.