The Note: Democrats can revel in Doug Jones’ win, but more battles loom

— -- The TAKE with Rick Klein

Yes, they (still) can. But it won't always be this easy, and this was pretty hard at that.

Democrats have every reason to celebrate their victory in Alabama. They can revel in storylines about new coalitions in red-state America, and about Republican dissensions and governing difficulties.

But their true battles have barely begun.

On cue, the push for a final tax bill gets urgent public attention today, with President Donald Trump speaking about it and the House and Senate conference committee meeting publicly for its first and only time.

Republicans will push to get their work done on taxes before Doug Jones is sworn in as a senator. Even after he does take office, Democrats will remain the minority party, with the majority facing new urgencies around getting work done.

Democrats probably needed a night like this to remind them of how winning is possible. But their memories will fade fast enough amid the realities of Trump's Washington.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

There will be a lot of talk about how extreme Roy Moore was, an outlier in the larger political landscape, but Democrats would be wise to take notes on the Doug Jones campaign and look closely at what his team did right.

In an era of big personalities, two back-to-back successful Democrats played it calm and quiet. Both Ralph Northam in Virginia and Doug Jones in Alabama were boring at times, plain almost, but two men who stuck to their script and marching orders. They were disciplined, hardworking and serious candidates with authentic relationships in their hometowns.

Jones ran a race Democrats forgot how to run.

He didn't flip flop on his issues. He was true to his principles and didn't pander. When asked about himself, he had accomplishments to list. Frankly, the people in Alabama already knew him before the national press arrived.

Jones' team celebrating last night said he managed to "thread the needle," referring to his work rallying the blue vote while also appealing to moderate Republicans turned off by Moore.

His team ran a sophisticated operation: Snapchat filters, texting outreach, ride shares.

The takeaway? Democrats would be remiss not to run serious candidates in every race, because they never know when the next Roy Moore opportunity may arise.

The TIP with Stephanie Ebbs

The EPA inspector general will review whether EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt misused any appropriated funds when he had a $25,000 "privacy booth" with a secure phone line installed in his office earlier this year. Democrats from the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the agency's watchdog to look into the matter in a letter in October.

The EPA has called the booth a SCIF, a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, and said Pruitt needs the secure line to make calls about classified information and communicate with the president. But Pruitt said it's difficult to estimate how often he will need it when he was asked about it while testifying for the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week.

In a separate inquiry, the agency's inspector general is looking into whether the administrator misused any money in the course of his official travel. Pruitt took at least one chartered flight and multiple government flights that cost more than $58,000, according to information the agency provided to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., in September.

The inquiry also includes whether Pruitt followed the proper procedures when traveling back to his home state of Oklahoma after complaints that he went there too frequently in the first few months of his time as administrator.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"That's what we've got to do, is wait on God and let this process play out." –- Republican candidate Roy Moore, in not conceding the Alabama election to Doug Jones

NEED TO READ

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.