EVERY STEP YOU TAKE, EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE — The Chinese-made drones will be watching you.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the Senate Homeland Security, Commerce and Intelligence committees have received classified briefings from federal officials and drone industry experts on hundreds of intrusions into secure airspace by recreational drones made by Chinese company DJI.

The drones are supposed to be locked out of D.C.’s restricted airspace, but with simple tweaks, those geofencing restrictions can be overridden.

The revelations have stoked concerns about espionage. DJI is not owned by the Chinese government but has strong financial ties to the government and public records list Beijing-backed individuals among its investors, report Bryan Bender and Andrew Desiderio.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee: “Any technological product with origins in China or Chinese companies holds a real risk and potential of vulnerability that can be exploited both now and in a time of conflict.”

“Anything that’s technological has the capability of having embedded, in the software or in the actual hardware, vulnerabilities that can be exploited at any given moment,”

Recent data shared with Congress illustrates the vast scope of the issue: there were more than 100 intrusions into the “special flight rules” area in the Washington region in just a 45-day period. Drone operators must obtain waivers from the FAA to fly inside the area, but these did not.

Careful what you watch for: The situation brings to mind “Cafe Ground Zero,” the Cold War era folklore that Soviet spies believed the hot dog stand in the Pentagon courtyard was a top secret facility based on satellite data showing people going in and out at the same times each day. But drones are much savvier than satellites.

‘TIS THE SEASON — For doubts to arise that Congress can pull together a year-end funding deal to meet their deadline and avoid a government shutdown.

GOP appropriator Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) isn’t making plans for the Christmas holiday in case talks drag into the final weeks of December. “Nope. Washington is beautiful when it snows,” he told Caitlin Emma.

The Dec. 16 deadline will be here before you know it. And the drawn-out elections results process and lame duck leadership jockeying have delayed concerted efforts to hash out a deal. Democrats had a much stronger showing in the midterms than expected and the Senate’s margins won’t be determined until runoff in Georgia on Dec. 6.

House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said her focus on the mid-December deadline is “laser-like,” but also told your Huddle host that the key players were just starting to get together in the days after the House was called for GOP control. Talks had been put off due to the midterm elections.

“I just don’t think that’s going to happen,” Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho told Caitlin, about meeting the Dec. 16 deadline. “There’s just too much confusion going on.”

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, November 13, where we’re thankful for our loyal Huddle readers!

SCHEDULING NOTE: Huddle will be off Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. But will return to your inbox on Nov. 28.

McCARTHY SETS SIGHTS ON MAYORKAS— While touring the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday with Republicans from the Texas Congressional delegation, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign.

McCarthy: “We will use the power of the purse and the power of subpoena. Let me be clear: Those responsible for this disaster will be held accountable,” McCarthy said at a news conference in El Paso. “If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure to determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiries.”

DHS responded, making clear that Mayorkas has no intention of resigning.

“Members of Congress can do better than point the finger at someone else; they should come to the table and work on solutions for our broken system and outdated laws, which have not been overhauled in over 40 years,” DHS said in a statement.

On the trip: McCarthy was joined by Texas Republican Reps. Tony Gonzales, Dan Crenshaw, Brian Babin and August Pfluger along with Reps. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and Kat Cammack (R-Fla.).

Reality check: The math for impeachment of administration officials is getting tougher. Back in October Jordain wrote about the momentum in the House GOP towards impeachments. But as the dream of a red wave crashed down and the reality of a razor-thin GOP majority took hold, impeachment ambitions wavered in the wake of the election. Centrists warn that impeachment, even of cabinet officials instead of the president, takes up so much oxygen that it could hurt Republicans heading into 2024.

BRING OUT YOUR RULES — The House Rules Committee has announced its hearing on proposed changes to the standing rules of the House, where members can come and pitch their proposals for the new Congress. Save the date, the hearing will be the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 29.

WE’RE WATCHING THIS WEDNESDAY — Alaska is still counting votes from its midterm election, a process drawn out by the ranked choice voting system. The Alaska Division of Elections is set to finish counting ballots and finalize results this afternoon. But in races for both the House and Senate, where Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola are defending their seats, there won’t be official results until officials account for voters’ ranked choice preferences. Neither Murkowski or Peltola have reached the 50 percent threshold of first-choice votes they’d need to win outright. Related read:What Alaskans can expect as election officials tabulate ranked choice results Wednesday, from Iris Samuels at The Anchorage Daily News

Sherrod’s stache… We can’t stop thinking about it. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) thinks he might have Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) beat with his own mustache situation from yesteryear.

QUICK LINKS 

Taylor Swift ticket trouble could drive political engagement, from Brooke Schultz at The Associated Press

Supreme Court backs House effort to obtain Trump tax returns, from Kyle

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House and Senate are out.

AROUND THE HILL

Thanksgiving eve is looking quiet.

TUESDAY’S WINNER:Michael D. Hawthorne correctly answered that President John Adams was known for drinking a pint of hard cider in the morning.

TODAY’S QUESTION Michael: What was the name of the rail car that carried President Harry Truman during his 1948 whistle stop tour?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected]

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