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Good Wednesday morning from Washington, where Congress is winding down its business but the talk is all about Jeb Bush and 2016. Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont was testing the enthusiasm of liberal voters in Iowa, and in a speech in New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton said there was never any justification for the use of torture in interrogations. We also learned that Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts met privately last month with Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, a longtime Clinton supporter.

It has begun. The 2016 presidential campaign is underway.

It is absurdly early, of course, with the Iowa caucuses roughly 14 months away.

But former Gov. Jeb Bush‘s announcement that he would “actively explore” a run for the White House and set up a leadership political action committee sent a thunderbolt through the Republican political world, from Capitol Hill to corporate boardrooms. And it is already causing other candidates to hasten their decisions.

A campaign by Mr. Bush would make it difficult for several other would-be candidates to run, including Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, reports Jonathan Martin, our national political correspondent.

A Bush candidacy would also probably spell the end of any talk of a third run by Mitt Romney. And it would create a tougher path for Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.

A crucial reason is money. The Republican establishment has been eager to unite behind one candidate and appears most enthusiastic about Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor. Many Republican donors also have deep ties to, and a fondness for, the extended Bush family. That gives Mr. Bush a huge advantage in building a powerful financial network.

Mr. Bush’s declaration on Tuesday stopped short of an official announcement, so he can still back out. But that seems unlikely.

One thing is for sure: The prospect of a Bush candidacy unsettles many Democrats, including operatives for Hillary Rodham Clinton. By Tuesday afternoon, the Democratic National Committee had sent out a fund-raising email linking Mr. Bush to his brother, saying, “Think about how President Bush worked out last time.”

— Carolyn Ryan

It was a private meeting between two of the Democratic Party’s liberal titans, held last month in New York. Behind the 10-foot fence of Gracie Mansion, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts talked about what the midterm election results meant for the Democratic Party and about their shared visions for alleviating income inequality and holding Wall Street accountable.

The get-together was not shared with the news media, but it fit into a more public effort by Mr. de Blasio to build a national image as a progressive leader.

Basking in Ms. Warren’s star power would make sense were it not for the mayor’s ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mr. de Blasio managed Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2000, and in January, the Clintons cut short a Caribbean vacation to attend Mr. de Blasio’s inauguration as mayor.

At the same time, Ms. Warren’s opposition to the omnibus spending bill and to President Obama’s nomination of a Wall Street investment banker as under secretary of the Treasury has renewed liberal activists’ enthusiasm to recruit Ms. Warren to challenge Mrs. Clinton in a 2016 presidential campaign. (Ms. Warren insists she is not running.)

A person close to Mr. de Blasio said the mayor was nothing if not a Clinton supporter.

“There are no long-term relationships in politics, and in the short term, the party appears to be moving to the left,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant who has worked for the Clintons. “And the heroine at the moment is Elizabeth Warren.”

— Amy Chozick

It was hugs and handshakes all around on Tuesday night as the final vote of the 113th Congress was conducted in the Senate, bringing an end to eight years of Democratic control.

Appropriately, Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, played his role as spoiler one last time before retirement, holding up multiple pieces of legislation, including a renewal of the post-Sept. 11 terrorism risk insurance program that was the subject of intense yet unsuccessful lobbying at the end. Democrats did push through dozens of nominations as a last act before Mr. Reid hands over power to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

With that in mind, Mr. McConnell said the first piece of legislation on the floor in January would be a bill expediting the Keystone XL pipeline.

Significantly to lawmakers and their staffs, Mr. McConnell promised an open floor fight during which senators would be free to offer amendments. One of the biggest complaints Republicans had about Democratic rule was that the leadership, trying to protect its members, blocked amendments.

Not only was he encouraging amendments, but Mr. McConnell also seemed to suggest that he would entertain extraneous “gotcha” amendments that senators occasionally use to force their colleagues to take stands on politically charged issues.

In the Keystone debate, he said, “we hope that senators on both sides will offer energy-related amendments, but there’ll be no effort to micromanage the amendment process.”

— Carl Hulse

Senator Bernard Sanders, the Vermont independent who calls himself a socialist, had a little lesson in capitalism on Tuesday night in a hotel ballroom in Altoona, Iowa: His tie brought $200 at auction to benefit Progress Iowa, a liberal advocacy group.

Mr. Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, is thinking about running for president, and this was his fourth trip to Iowa this year. In Ames earlier in the day, he stood in a church basement and suggested he would run if he thought he could lead “a political revolution.”

“What I mean by a political revolution is developing an unprecedented level of grass-roots activism,” Mr. Sanders said there, using a milk crate as a podium. “It means instead of 36 percent of the people voting, 80, 90 percent of the people voting.”

While one group — Progressive Democrats of America — distributed red, white and blue “Run, Bernie, Run” buttons, it remains to be seen whether Mr. Sanders can generate significant enthusiasm for that kind of movement.

There is a groundswell on the left to draft Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. She says she is not running, but the liberal group MoveOn.org has scheduled a rally in Des Moines on Wednesday to urge her to get into the race.

As to Mr. Sanders’s tie, it was navy with a tiny geometric pattern – and, for the record, had no label. It was bought by Tim Urban, a commercial real estate developer and former Des Moines city councilman.

How much did Mr. Sanders pay for it originally? “Not 200 bucks, I can tell you,” he said.

— Sheryl Gay Stolberg

President Obama, accompanied by his wife, will address two Hanukkah receptions at the White House, one at 4:15 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m.

The Labor Department releases the Consumer Price Index for November at 8:30 a.m.

At the Federal Reserve, policy makers will release a statement on interest rates at 2 p.m., and Janet L. Yellen, the Fed chairwoman, will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m.

What do Hanukkah and the Boston Tea Party have in common?

Quite a bit, according to Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who managed to tie the plight of the Maccabees to America’s most famous act of colonial defiance.

“It is fitting that the first night of Hanukkah falls this year on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party,” Mr. Perry said. “The same spirit of freedom that inspired the Maccabees to rise up against a foreign empire motivated our founding fathers to rebel against the crown on that fateful night.”

Mr. Perry, who is considering a second run for president in 2016, has been polishing his image and brushing up on economics, foreign policy and history. And on Tuesday, Mr. Perry tried to show he could find common ground in the most unusual places.

He also managed to plug his solidarity with Israel in a way few ever will. “Our republic,” he said, “like the light of the ancient menorah, has lasted longer than anyone could have predicted.”

— Alan Rappeport

A home away from home for members of the House and Senate is closing its doors after three decades.

Hillary Rodham Clinton roundly condemned the C.I.A.’s use of torture in terrorism investigations, in her first comments since a Senate report last week.

The Obama administration is allowing a wealthy Ecuadorean woman, a prolific Democratic donor, back into the country after she was barred for fraudulently obtaining visas for her maids.

With Russia’s economy in free fall, President Obama approves another round of sanctions for Moscow and more aid to Ukraine.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has reignited the Republican civil war, Politico reports.

The Weekly Standard asks if Republicans will be able to take advantage of the Democrats’ lurch to the left since the midterm elections.

Time magazine said former Gov. Jeb Bush is betting that presidential voters in 2016 will be hungry for an optimist in the White House. Mother Jones presents 23 reasons why he should not run.

Texas Monthly offers a set of suggestions to Greg Abbott, Rick Perry’s successor as Texas governor.