Welcome to Trump Watch. A new era at the Justice Department raises new questions about the future of special counsel Robert Mueller III's probe. But today in a Washington, D.C., federal courtroom, lawyers for the special counsel will try to fend off a different kind of threat to the investigation: one man's challenge to the constitutionality of Mueller's appointment in May 2017.

We're hitting your inboxes with a special edition to take you through this absolutely wild week, and touch on what to expect next for the Trump administration.

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Mueller's Back in Court

A lawyer for the U.S. government is set to defend the appropriateness of Mueller's special counsel appointment during oral arguments this afternoon before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The case arises out of a grand jury subpoena fight involving Andrew Miller, an associate of Trump confidant Roger Stone. Miller was served with a grand jury subpoena earlier this year by the special counsel. Miller has so far refused to comply—he was held in contempt of court this summer—instead focusing on challenging the legitimacy of Mueller's appointment.

In briefs, an attorney for Miller, Paul Kamenar, has argued Mueller's appointment violated the U.S. Constitution, contending in part that the special counsel is a principal, not inferior, officer under the Appointments Clause, which would have required a Senate confirmation.

Miller's bid to invalidate Mueller's appointment is unlikely to succeed. A number of individuals have already challenged Mueller's authority in the courts. None have worked out. Most recently, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, appointed to the Washington, D.C., federal trial court by President Donald Trump, rejected a challenge to Mueller's appointment brought by Concord Management and Consulting, a Russian troll farm that was indicted earlier this year.

Michael Dreeben, who has worked on Mueller's probe while also serving as a deputy in the U.S. Solicitor General's office, will argue on behalf of the U.S. today; Kamenar is expected to represent Miller. The circuit court also allowed Kamenar to cede five minutes of oral argument time to a Reed Smith lawyer who will represent amicus curiae Concord Management.

Post-Midterms Cheat Sheet

With Democrats taking the House of Representatives on Tuesday night, it was clear that members of the incoming House majority were already winding up for January, and getting ready to wield their new investigative and oversight powers against the Trump administration.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions' resignation Wednesday afternoon at the White House's request, and the announcement of Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general, might have just shot up to the top of the pile of things Democrats will be eager to investigate. You can read more about Whitaker and his comments about the Mueller probe here.

How prepared will the White House be?

Incoming committee chairs have already signaled an ambitious agenda, as the New York Times has reported, suggesting they could soon start opening inquiries into controversial administration and agency decisions, hauling in cabinet officials for Capitol Hill hearings, and demanding documents upon documents.

You can expect Rep. Elijah Cummings, the Maryland Democrat likely to take over the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat poised to take over the House Judiciary Committee, to peer into the administration's decisions on immigration, the White House's security clearance process, Trump and his family's financial dealings, and more.

“I think more than anything Congress is going to resume more of its traditional oversight role. That means more investigations, more hearings, and that means an oversight agenda that runs parallel with a legislative agenda,” says David Quam, partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough and a member of the firm's government relations group.

So far, Trump and his aides have projected optimism about Tuesday's results, pointing to gains in the Senate. But the White House will have to adjust to an entirely new reality in the House.

Look for the White House counsel's office, for example, to staff up and reorganize ranks. A number of departures in the last two years—including the recent exit of White House counsel Donald McGahn—have left a slimmed-down shop on Pennsylvania Avenue. How incoming White House counsel Pat Cipollone beefs up his staff will be crucial, as the office prepares for an expected Democratic downpour of subpoenas, records requests, and hearings.

The Trump administration could also invoke executive privilege on administration actions that Democrats will be eager to probe, teeing up possible litigation.

Of course, Democrats have long eyed Trump's tax returns. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, who will soon helm the House Ways and Means Committee, has already signalled he and other committee heads will demand those elusive documents from the IRS.

But President Trump has resisted turning those records over, pointing to an ongoing IRS audit. (“If I were finished with the audit, I would have an open mind to it,” he repeated during a Wednesday press conference.) If the administration and the IRS refuse to turn over Trump's returns, it means the fight would very likely spill over into the courts.

On the Senate side, things are appearing brighter for the Trump administration and Republicans. Even with the possibility of recounts, the GOP picked up seats Tuesday that will widen its majority in the chamber. That will no doubt be a boost for the continued conservative push to confirm more of the Trump administration's judicial nominations. In the last two years, one or two Republican senators' opposition to a Trump court pick would have been enough to fell a nomination. With Tuesday's results, Trump's judicial train faces even fewer roadblocks.

The same applies to replacing Sessions. It's not clear how long Whitaker will fill in as acting attorney general, and it's possible that Trump could even nominate him to the post. Whomever Trump submits to the Senate, they'll likely face an easier path to confirmation after Tuesday.

More Midterm Mania

There was so much more at stake on Tuesday beyond the House and Senate races: Florida voted to restore voting rights for ex-felons, three states eased restrictions on marijuana, and Michigan approved a ballot proposal to create an independent redistricting commission. Here's a sampling of some of the other stories my colleagues caught from Tuesday's results.

>> In New York: “Letitia 'Tish' James became the first woman and first person of color elected to the powerful post of New York attorney general on Tuesday, inheriting a portfolio of high-profile litigation from her predecessor including challenges to Trump administration policies and a probe of the Trump Foundation,” Dan Clark reports at the New York Law Journal.

>> In California: “Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. congressman chosen by Gov. Jerry Brown to serve as California's foil to the Trump administration, prevailed Tuesday in the race for state attorney general,” Cheryl Miller reports at The Recorder.

>> In Georgia: Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee in Georgia's gubernatorial race, has not yet conceded the election to Republican Brian Kemp. An emergency lawsuit was filed in Atlanta federal court Tuesday seeking to stop Kemp, who is reportedly resigning as Georgia's secretary of state, from using his office to influence the outcome of the election, Daily Report's R. Robin McDonald writes.

U.S. District Judge William 'Billy' Ray II of the Northern District of Georgia—a recent Trump appointee to the court—was assigned on Wednesday to oversee the case.

>> In law prof-land: “A former University of Missouri law professor is headed to the U.S. Senate and the former dean of the University of Colorado Law School was elected as the state's next attorney general. But law professors at the University of California, Irvine School of Law and West Virginia University College of Law were defeated in their Congressional bids.” My colleague Karen Sloan dishes on the law professors who won, and lost, at the polls.

That's it for Trump Watch, I will be back again next week.