• About
  • Newsletter
  • Contact us
Advance US News Diary

November 28-December 4: House Dems choose new leader, Macron pays state visit, Obama rallies for Warnock

Hakeem Jeffries
November 25, 2022
  • Slice 1

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.

Leading the week 

House Democrats will meet on Wednesday (November 30) to vote on their leadership going into the next Congress following the momentous (albeit expected) confirmation that Nancy Pelosi is stepping aside after the Democrats’ narrow midterms loss. Pelosi, who made history by becoming the first woman to lead the House Democrats, looks likely to be replaced by New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who would be the first African American to hold the position.

Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron walk hand in hand
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron will pay a state visit to the White House on Thursday

French President Emmanuel Macron heads to DC next week, where he and his wife Brigitte will be hosted at the White House on Thursday (December 1) for the first full-scale state visit of Joe Biden’s presidency. Despite early tensions between Washington and Paris over France’s exclusion from the AUKUS security pace, Biden and Macron are likely to stress their shared priority of supporting Ukraine when they meet, though in private economic tensions – notably over US subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act – are sure to be raised. 

Barack Obama at a rally in Nevada
Barack Obama, who remains a rock star among Democrats, will be back in Georgia on Thursday

While we now know that Republicans will control the House from next year, and Democrats the Senate, the December 6 run-off in the contest in Georgia between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker remains important – not least because with a 51-49 majority in the Senate, Democrats would have a majority on committees and would be able to confirm administration nominations at a significantly faster pace. Walker has hosted a slew of Republican Senators in the weeks since the midterms, but Warnock will benefit from the Democratic Party’s star campaigner when he’s joined by Barack Obama on Thursday (December 1) for a rally in Atlanta. The event takes a day before early voting, which traditionally favors Democrats, ends on Friday (December 2). 


Looking abroad 

The conflict in Ukraine will be at the forefront of international news week as NATO foreign ministers gather in Bucharest on Tuesday and Wednesday (November 29 and 30) before the annual gathering of OSCE foreign ministers takes place in Lodz, Poland, on Thursday and Friday (December 1 and 2). Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is due to participate in the NATO meeting, and may join Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg among speakers at the Aspen-GMF Bucharest Forum taking place alongside the ministerial on Tuesday.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will attend the NATO meeting in Bucharest

Sweden and Finland’s bids to become fully-fledged members of the alliance are likely to be discussed following confirmation that Hungary will not block them, putting pressure on Turkey to follow through on its commitment to sign off on their membership. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is also, as it happens, speaking at the Aspen-GMF event on Tuesday.  

The recent, ultimately unfounded, fears that a Russian missile had landed inside Polish sovereign territory were a reminder of the stakes in the conflict in Ukraine given its proximity to NATO members, and this won’t be lost on attendees at the OSCE meeting. The ministerial has often provided a neutral setting for relatively low-profile talks on the margins between the US and Russian foreign ministers, but not this year. Though US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected at both meetings, it appears veteran Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov won’t be permitted to attend the gathering following a decision by Polish authorities citing EU sanctions. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov won’t be permitted to attend the OSCE ministerial in Poland

World Cup action continues in Qatar as the USMNT take on Iran on Tuesday (November 29) in a game that could have huge significance and symbolic importance. In their opening match against England, the Iranian team stayed silent during the singing of their national anthem in a powerful sign of support for the ongoing protests across the country. Iranian state media blamed the protests and its foreign enemies for the loss, and the pressure on players will be even greater as they face the ‘Great Satan’ – a win would be a propaganda coup for the regime, while a loss could see the government double down on claims of ‘psychological warfare’. The two sides met in the 1998 World Cup, in what became known as the most ‘politically-charged’ match of all time, but the tensions between the Iranian team, fans and regime this year make the domestic ramifications at least as interesting as the international dynamic.


 

Also look out for...

November 28

Defense case begins in Harvey Weinstein’s California trial 

Plea hearing for alleged Buffalo supermarket mass shooter Payton Gendron 

Mike Pence speaks at Lincoln Forum 

Former French President Nikolas Sarkozy appeals corruption conviction 

Cyber Monday 

Brazil & Portugal play at FIFA World Cup

November 29

Joe Biden visits Michigan 

Nikki Haley delivers speech in South Carolina 

Plea hearing in ‘Gasland’ drilling pollution case in Pennsylvania 

Capitol Christmas tree lighting 

England play at FIFA World Cup

November 30

Jerome Powell delivers speech at Brookings Institution 

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Mark Zuckerberg speak at NYT DealBook Summit 

Hearing for Paul Pelosi attack suspect 

Olaf Scholz at Berlin Security Conference 

France & Argentina play at FIFA World Cup

December 1

Senate hearing on FTX collapse 

Charles Michel meets with Xi Jinping 

Jens Stoltenberg addresses Berlin Security Conference 

Anne Sacoolas sentenced over UK death of Harry Dunn 

Ursula von der Leyen visits Ireland 

Artemis I departs distant retrograde orbit 

Germany & Spain play at FIFA World Cup

December 2

Employment Situation released 

Prince William at Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Boston 

Brazil & Portugal play at FIFA World Cup

December 3

Reagan Defense Forum 

Raphael Warnock holds rally 

Keke Palmer hosts SNL 

World Cup Round of 16 begins

December 4

OPEC+ meets 

Israeli President visits Bahrain 

China holds annual civil service exams 

Kennedy Center Honors

Statistics, Reports and Results

November 29

Consumer Confidence Index 

Canada Q3 GDP 

Forbes 30 Under 30 

November 30

US GDP (2nd estimate)  

ADP National Employment Report 

Beige Book 

Flash EU inflation 

India and Turkey Q3 GDP 

ILO report on global wages

December 1

Construction Put in place 

ISM Manufacuring Report on Business 

Personal Income and Outlays 

Brazil Q3 GDP 

OECD Pensions Outlook

Anniversaries and Awareness Days

November 29

Giving Tuesday 

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 

100 years ago: Tomb of Tutankhamun opened

November 30

St. Andrew’s Day (Scotland) 

Remembrance Day for All Victims of Chemical Warfare 

One year ago: Michigan school shooting

December 1

World AIDS Day 

Prisoners for Peace Day 

One year ago: first Omicron case detected in the US

December 2

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

December 3

International Day of Persons with Disabilities


Foresight News is an intelligence tool for media, government, PR and public affairs professionals to plan editorial coverage and media engagement. 

If you'd like to receive this newsletter by email, you can click here to sign up for free. 

If you’d like to speak to us about a subscription, email enquiries@foresightnews.com for a free demo and trial access. 

Tags

  • Barack Obama
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • Hakeem Jeffries
  • Herschel Walker
  • Iran
  • Joe Biden
  • Nancy Pelosi
  • NATO
  • OSCE
  • Raphael Warnock
  • Russia
  • Ukraine
  • USMNT
  • World Cup
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website terms & conditions

Designed by Interconnect. Powered by Standfirst.