![GOP victories in off-year election renews pressure on Washington Democrats to deliver ahead of the midterms](https://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/11/03/413d7e5e-ae83-42bc-96bb-cd194a4f5a74/thumbnail/1200x630g2/f65af2ece40a614454bb7b472a6a632e/ap21307186081883.jpg)
GOP victories in off-year election renews pressure on Washington Democrats to deliver ahead of the midterms
CBSN
Democrats returned to Capitol Hill Wednesday with a new sense of urgency to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill and focus on President Joe Biden's social spending agenda after Republicans received strong support in the off-year election. Lawmakers argued they need to prove they can deliver for their constituents amid fear the election results Tuesday foreshadows real trouble for Democrats seeking to maintain their majority in next year's midterms.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said his party needs to show that it "could govern and in a pragmatic way." He said the first step would be getting the bipartisan infrastructure bill to the president's desk, calling delays a "mistake."
First-time Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governor's race Tuesday after campaigning heavily on education. His victory reversed the state's blue trend of more than a decade, including Biden's win by 10 points. Republicans also appear to have reclaimed the majority in the Virginia House of Delegates. The New Jersey governor's race was still too close to call Wednesday.
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Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a high-stakes meeting at this year's Munich Security conference to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Vance said the U.S. seeks a "durable" peace, while Zelenskyy expressed the desire for extensive discussions to prepare for any end to the conflict.
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Washington — The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation's largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who hadn't yet gained civil service protection - potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
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It was Labor Day weekend 2003 when Matt Scribner, a local horse farrier and trainer who also competes in long-distance horse races, was on his usual ride in a remote part of the Sierra Nevada foothills — just a few miles northeast of Auburn, California —when he noticed a freshly dug hole along the trail that piqued his curiosity.