;)
The Commentariat -- November 10, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's refusal to concede the election to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has already affected Mr. Biden's transition, particularly on national security issues. Mr. Biden has yet to receive a presidential daily briefing, and it was unclear whether his team would have access to classified information, the most important pipeline for them to learn about the threats facing the United States.... No law states that Mr. Biden must receive [the PDB], though under previous administrations dating to at least 1968, presidents have authorized their elected successors to be given the briefing after clinching victory.... In the aftermath of the contested 2000 election, while votes in Florida were being recounted, President Bill Clinton authorized George W. Bush to receive the President's Daily Brief. As vice president, Al Gore already had access to the intelligence.... Like previous presidents-elect, Mr. Biden is receiving Secret Service protection, and a no-fly zone has been established over his home in Delaware. But if Mr. Trump's administration continues its refusal to recognize Mr. Biden as the winner, it could complicate his security until his inauguration." Biden is not receiving the level of Secret Service protection normally afforded to presidents-elect. ~~~
~~~ Unfortunately, the people who might be in positions to coax Trump out of his catatonic state for anything other than to fire somebody who is an essential part of the national security apparatus do get this or any other consequences of the Long Trumpertantrum. Ergo, ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Speaking about President Trump's and his legal team's myriad and baseless claims of massive voter fraud, an anonymous senior Republican official offered a rhetorical shrug. 'What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time? No one seriously thinks the results will change,' the official said. 'He went golfing this weekend. It's not like he's plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan. 20. He's tweeting about filing some lawsuits, those lawsuits will fail, then he'll tweet some more about how the election was stolen, and then he'll leave.' Indeed, what's a little undermining of democracy between friends?... The problem, though, is that ... Trump's enablers [like Bill Barr] are breathing life into Trump's and his legal team's haphazard and specious claims of fraud.... Pacification comes with a price. Just because it's difficult to quantify or fully grasp doesn't mean it won't have lasting implications."
Missy Ryan & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The top policy official at the Defense Department resigned suddenly Tuesday, a day after President Trump abruptly fired his defense secretary, compounding uncertainty at the Pentagon during a sensitive transition period. Several officials said that James Anderson, who served as acting undersecretary of defense for policy, informed colleagues of his immediate departure just hours after Christopher Miller, an intelligence official, started his first full day as acting defense secretary." ~~~
~~~ Lara Seligman & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Anthony Tata, a retired brigadier general whose nomination for a top Pentagon job collapsed this summer due to Islamophobic tweets and other controversial statements, began overseeing policy for the Defense Department on Tuesday. The move is part of a high-level civilian leadership shakeup that began on Monday when ... Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper.... Tata's ascension to temporary head of policy is sure to revive deep concerns among members of Congress who opposed his nomination for the job this summer. After the White House announced his nomination, Tata came under fire for tweets calling former President Barack Obama a 'terrorist leader' and for referring to Islam as the 'most oppressive violent religion I know of,' among other controversial statements."
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Thousands of ballots continued to stream into U.S. Postal Service facilities Monday, according to newly filed court documents, too late in many states to be counted, even if postmarked by Election Day. According to the new data, compiled as part of a lawsuit to monitor mail voting, ballots arriving Monday included hundreds meant for closely fought contests in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona, where President-elect Joe Biden has held small but significant leads. Those ballots include: 121 in Atlanta, 293 in Philadelphia, 109 in Central Pennsylvania, 171 in Central Arizona and 83 in Detroit. Though the number of ballots is too small to affect the outcome of the election in any of these states they could -- along with hundreds of others that arrived in these states in the days since the election -- affect the margins of victory for Biden. Of these states, only Pennsylvania accepted ballots after Election Day, so long as they were postmarked by Nov. 3. But even Pennsylvania's extension, ordered by the state Supreme Court, expired on Friday."
Steve M.: "You can argue that Republican senators are backing Trump because they want to rally their voters for the Georgia Senate runoffs and the 2022 midterms, and they're doing this even though they know Trump will lose in court. But what's Barr's motivation? If he assumes Trump's challenges will fail, what does he get out of fighting on? He avoids being fired? He's out of a job in January no matter what.... Unless he thinks his lawyers can gin something up.... But even if that's true, 47% of the country will have an even darker view of Democrats and cities and black voters and 'the Deep State.' Then we'll be even more divided and the right will be even angrier and more paranoid (and better armed...). But these cynics don't care that they're encouraging a state of permanent cold civil war. They're sure they won't be harmed by this."
** Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "As president, Donald Trump selectively revealed highly classified information to attack his adversaries, gain political advantage and to impress or intimidate foreign governments, in some cases jeopardizing U.S. intelligence capabilities. As an ex-president, there's every reason to worry he will do the same, thus posing a unique national security dilemma for the Biden administration, current and former officials and analysts said.... No new president has ever had to fear that his predecessor might expose the nation's secrets as President-elect Joe Biden must with Trump, current and former officials said. Not only does Trump have a history of disclosures, he checks the boxes of a classic counterintelligence risk: He is deeply in debt and angry at the U.S. government, particularly what he describes as the 'deep state' conspiracy that he believes tried to stop him from winning the White House in 2016 and what he falsely claims is an illegal effort to rob him of reelection.... After he leaves office, he still will have access to the classified records of his administration. But the legal ability to disclose them disappears once Biden is sworn in January." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If you have a WashPo subscription, read on. There has seldom, if ever, been a front-page (online, anyway), major-media story so chilling. The idea that a former president*, even this one, would go to work for international adversaries is stunning. I haven't cared much for any Republican president who served during my lifetime, but I have not once worried about any of them might become a spy for U.S. enemies.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The bulk of the Affordable Care Act ... appeared likely to survive its latest encounter with the Supreme Court in arguments on Tuesday. It was not clear whether the court would strike down the so-called individual mandate, which was rendered toothless in 2017 after Congress zeroed out the penalty for failing to obtain insurance. But at least five justices, including two members of the court's conservative majority, indicated that they were not inclined to strike down the balance of the law. In legal terms, they said the mandate was severable from the rest of the law. 'It does seem fairly clear that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate provision and leave the rest of the law in place,' said Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. made a similar point."; ~~~
~~~ Robert Barnes, et al., of the Washington Post agree with Liptak: "'I think it's hard for you to argue that Congress intended the entire act to fall if the mandate were struck down when the same Congress that lowered the penalty to zero did not even try to repeal the rest of the act,' [CJ John] Roberts told Kyle D. Hawkins, the Texas solicitor general leading the red-state effort. 'I think, frankly, that they wanted the court to do that. But that&'s not our job.'" A concurring Politico story by Susannah Luthi is here.
Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "When Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly shot and killed two people and seriously wounded another man in August during racial justice protests in Kenosha, Wis., he used an assault rifle that authorities said a friend had bought for him.... Prosecutors have charged that friend, 19-year-old Dominick David Black, with two felony counts of intentionally selling a gun to a minor. Black made his first court appearance on Monday in the Kenosha County Circuit Court." The Hill's summary story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fact & Farce
Will Weissert of the AP: "President-elect Joe Biden is championing the Obama administration's signature health law as it goes before the Supreme Court in a case that could overturn it. He will deliver a speech on the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday, the day the high court will hear arguments on its merits." Related AP story by Mark Sherman linked below.
Alice Ollstein & Quint Forgey of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden gave clear signals on Monday that his administration will take a completely different approach to the coronavirus pandemic -- warning that the United States would face a 'very dark winter,' unveiling a new Covid advisory group stacked with veteran public health experts, lowering expectations for a rapidly available vaccine and making an urgent plea for Americans to cover their faces and slow the soaring rate of infection. Flanked by a masked Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in Wilmington, Del., Biden made early reference to the 'positive news' that drugmaker Pfizer had found its vaccine candidate to be more than 90 percent effective. But he said the shot, if approved, 'will not be widely available for many months yet to come.' In fact, Pfizer announced Monday that the company is aiming to have just 100 million doses ready to distribute in the U.S. by March -- enough for only 15 percent of the population since each recipient requires two doses a few weeks apart." A New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Nathaniel Weixel of the Hill: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday implored every American to put aside political differences and wear masks. 'A mask is not a political statement, but it is a good way to start pulling the country together,' Biden said during a somber address that acknowledged the COVID-19 crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
The President & the Pissant. Annie Linskey & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden sought to project the authority of an incoming president Monday as he dealt with matters domestic and international, even as the defeated incumbent continued to balk at turning over the reins. Biden began taking calls from foreign leaders, speaking Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He also was weighing whom to appoint to top White House positions, with several of his longtime advisers expected to take senior roles. And he turned his attention to the coronavirus, dispatching a key aide to brief Senate Democrats this week and making a strong pitch to Americans of every ideology to follow public health recommendations."
Simon Lewis & Tim Reid of Reuters: "President-elect Joe Biden's transition team is considering legal action over a federal agency's delay in recognizing the Democrat's victory over ... Donald Trump in last week's election, a Biden official said on Monday. The General Services Administration (GSA) normally recognizes a presidential candidate when it becomes clear who has won an election so that a transition of power can begin.... The law does not clearly spell out when the GSA must act, but Biden transition officials say their victory is clear and a delay is not justified, even as Trump refuses to concede defeat."
The New York Times' live Biden updates Monday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Sydney Page of the Lily: Jill "Biden, who is a long-standing English professor at Northern Virginia Community College and holds several degrees including a doctorate, plans to continue teaching while serving the country as first lady. Of the women who will have preceded her, none have maintained a professional and full-time career while in the White House.... (Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a regular column for years, including during her time in the White House, but that work wasn't full-time, says [historian Myra] Gutin. And any money Roosevelt earned was donated.)"
Nicholas Fandos & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Leading Republicans rallied on Monday around President Trump's refusal to concede the election, declining to challenge the false narrative that it was stolen from him or to recognize President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory even as party divisions burst into public view. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky ... threw his support behind Mr. Trump in a sharply worded speech on the Senate floor. He declared that Mr. Trump was '100 percent within his rights' to turn to the legal system to challenge the outcome and hammered Democrats for expecting the president to concede. In his first public remarks since Mr. Biden was declared the winner, Mr. McConnell celebrated the success of Republicans who won election to the House and the Senate. But in the next breath, he treated the outcome of the presidential election -- based on the same ballots that elected those Republicans -- as unknown." Mrs. McC: How refreshing that the Majority Leader's little mind is not fettered by the hobgoblins of consistency. ~~~
~~~ Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "President Trump's iron grip on his party has inspired love for him among many Republican lawmakers, and fear in others. Neither group will tell him it is time to concede his loss.... Some of the Mr. Trump's acolytes..., [like Georgia Sens. David Perdue & Kelly Loeffler,] have rushed to advance his baseless theories of fraud.... 'There is no bipartisanship to speak of, in terms of how many members are willing to speak up -- and would it matter to him?... said William S. Cohen, a former senator and House member from Maine.... 'Trump doesn't care a whit about the House or Senate, and he rules by fear. He still can inflame his supporters -- there are 70 million out there. He still carries that fear factor.' By Monday evening, a club of only a few Republican senators known for their distaste for Mr. Trump -- Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska -- had acknowledged Mr. Biden's victory.... On Monday, 31 former Republican members of Congress -- many of them outspoken critics of the president -- denounced Mr. Trump's allegations in an open letter that called on him to accept the election results."
Lisa Rein, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Trump White House on Monday instructed senior government leaders to block cooperation with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, escalating a standoff that threatens to impede the transfer of power and prompting the Biden team to consider legal action. Officials at agencies across the government who had prepared briefing books and carved out office space for the incoming Biden team to use as soon as this week were told instead that the transition would not be recognized until the Democrat's election was confirmed by the General Services Administration, the low-profile agency that officially starts the transition."
The Washington Post's live election updates Monday are here. They are free to non-subscribers: "... lawyers for President Trump, who has refused to concede the election, plan to press ahead with legal challenges alleging irregularities in several states where Biden leads in the vote count, including Pennsylvania. With no evidence, Trump has contended that widespread fraud cost him the election.... ~~~
~~~ "As of Monday morning, six days after Election Day, an estimated 46 percent of votes in Alaska had been counted, according to Edison Research. That's in part because no mail ballots have been included in the total. The state won't begin to tabulate mail ballots until Tuesday, which means perhaps a third of votes could still be pending." ~~~
~~~ "Geoff Duncan, the Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, said Monday that his office has seen no 'credible examples' of widespread voter fraud in his state, which is among those in which Biden holds a narrow lead and Trump alleges cheating.... (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
Arizona. Biden is maintaining a lead of about 14,700 votes as results trickle in. There are about 62,000 votes still outstanding.
Georgia. Rick Rojas & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A rift among Georgia Republicans exploded into public view on Monday as the state's incumbent senators, both locked in fierce runoff fights for their seats, lashed out at the Republican officials who oversaw last week's election and leveled unfounded claims of a faulty process lacking in transparency. The all-out intraparty war erupted as the vote count in Georgia on Monday continued to show President Trump narrowly trailing President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia took the extraordinary step of issuing a joint statement calling for the resignation of the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, and condemning the election as an 'embarrassment.'... Mr. Raffensperger dismissed their allegations as 'laughable.' 'Let me start by saying that is not going to happen,' Mr. Raffensperger said of the request to resign." An NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Biden is up by more than 12,000 votes in Georgia.
Pennsylvania. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump's campaign on Monday filed a new lawsuit against Pennsylvania's secretary of state and seven counties, seeking an injunction prohibiting them from certifying the state's results of the 2020 election. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Pennsylvania, alleges that the commonwealth implemented an illegal 'two-tiered' voting system in which voters were held to different standards depending on whether they voted in person or submitted their ballots by mail. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) dismissed the new lawsuit as 'meritless.'... 'This seems very unlikely to succeed,' said Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine. 'Some of the claims have already been rejected by the court, others are the kinds of claims that could have been brought months ago and now come too late.... And none of the claims seem even slightly likely to lead to a difference in vote outcomes in Pennsylvania, or in the presidential election generally.'...." ~~~
~~~ Biden's lead in Pennsylvania has grown to about 45,000 votes.
Oh, You Kidz Are So Mean. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "In its search for viable challenges to President-elect Joe Biden's victory, President Trump's campaign set up a voter fraud hotline after Election Day, encouraging people to call in with reports of suspicious incidents. Although the campaign has thus far failed to prove any voter fraud, the hotline has received no shortage of phone calls -- all thanks to a viral campaign on TikTok and Twitter to clog the hotline with anti-Trump memes and absurd messages. Campaign staffers in Virginia have been answering the calls, ABC News reported, fielding prank calls from Biden supporters who have played songs and movie clips, filed bogus reports, submitted the entire script for the 2007 film 'Bee Movie,' or simply mocked Trump's loss before hanging up.... Alex Hirsch, creator of the Disney Channel TV show 'Gravity Falls,' called in to report that he saw a man, matching the description of McDonald's Hamburglar, walk into a polling place wearing a 'black hat, black mask, a striped shirt and a red tie, and I believe there were hamburgers in his bag.... And he was saying, "Robble, robble," as he was exiting the building,' Hirsch added. 'Like a burglar. You know, I think he's probably antifa.'... ~~~
~~~ "On Sunday, comedian John Oliver suggested people submit images of rats mating, in a nod to an obscene slang term for devious political sabotage." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
Jessica Silver-Greenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "... Jones Day is the most prominent [law] firm representing President Trump and the Republican Party as they prepare to wage a legal war challenging the results of the election. The work is intensifying concerns inside the firm about the propriety and wisdom of working for Mr. Trump, according to lawyers at the firm. Doing business with Mr. Trump -- with his history of inflammatory rhetoric, meritless lawsuits and refusal to pay what he owes -- has long induced heartburn among lawyers, contractors, suppliers and lenders. But the concerns are taking on new urgency as the president seeks to raise doubts about the election results. Some senior lawyers at Jones Day, one of the country's largest law firms, are worried that it is advancing arguments that lack evidence and may be helping Mr. Trump and his allies undermine the integrity of American elections, according to interviews with nine partners and associates.... At another large firm, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, based in Columbus, Ohio, lawyers have held internal meetings to voice similar concerns about their firm's election-related work for Mr. Trump and the Republican Party...." Mrs. McCrabbie: Gee, even Trump's own lawyers, surely among the least introspective people among us, have noticed that undermining our system of government isn't such a great idea. A Hill summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Even as we have been enjoying the buffoonery of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani as he "tucked in his pants" while lying on a hotel-room bed at the behest of a balloon-enhanced buxom lady & made outrageous election-fraud claims in a parking lot near a sex shop & a crematorium, Trump's other personal lawyer was busy cooking up schemes on Trump's behalf -- and on your dime: ~~~
~~~ Katie Benner & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr, wading into President Trump's unfounded accusations of widespread election irregularities, told federal prosecutors on Monday that they were allowed to investigate 'specific allegations' of voter fraud before the results of the presidential race are certified. Mr. Barr's authorization prompted the Justice Department official who oversees investigations of voter fraud, Richard Pilger, to step down from the post within hours, according to an email Mr. Pilger sent to colleagues.... 'Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications,' ... Mr. Pilger, a career prosecutor, wrote.... 'I must regretfully resign from my role as director of the Election Crimes Branch.'... Mr. Barr's directive ignored the Justice Department's longstanding policies intended to keep law enforcement from affecting the outcome of an election. And it followed a move weeks before the election in which the department lifted a prohibition on voter fraud investigations before an election." A Hill story is here.
There is only one party in America trying to keep observers out of the count room, and that party, my friends, is the Democrat Party. You don't oppose an audit of the vote because you want an accurate count.... You take these positions because you are welcoming fraud and you are welcoming illegal voting. -- Kayleigh McEnany, at an RNC event Monday evening ~~~
~~~ Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Out-Foxed. Helen Sullivan of the Guardian: Fox "News" "cut away from a briefing held by the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, during which she repeated Donald Trump's refusal to accept defeat in the presidential election and doubled down on allegations of voter fraud, for which there is scant if any evidence. [McEneny claimed she was] speaking to media on Monday night in her 'personal capacity' during what she said was a campaign event at the Republican National Committee headquarters.... From the [Fox] studio, host Neil Cavuto said: 'Whoa, whoa, whoa -- I just think we have to be very clear. She's charging the other side as welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can't in good countenance continue to show you this.'... The decision to cut away was Cavuto's, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the show."
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Krugman rightly applauds the work of Stacey Abrams to register Georgia's Democratic-leaning voters & urges Democrats to do more to undo GOP gerrymandering & voter suppression. But I have been thinking for a long time that there is no need to cede the unwashed masses tilling the Great Plains & eking out livings in dying small towns. I suppose there isn't much anyone can do about white racists, but Democrats should start now -- not three weeks before the next national election -- on a massive national grass-roots campaign to re-educate the unwashed about the economic hardships Republicans impose on them. Not long ago, Midwestern states like Iowa & the Dakotas regularly sent Democrats to the House & Senate. If they intensely court the country folk, they can do so again. They could start by electing Congressional leaders who were not from San Francisco (Pelosi) & New York City (Schumer).
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump is planning to form a so-called leadership political action committee, a federal fund-raising vehicle that will potentially let him retain his hold on the Republican Party even when he is out of office, officials said on Monday.... A leadership PAC could accept donations from an unlimited number of people.... It would almost certainly be a vehicle by which Mr. Trump could retain influence in a party that has been remade largely in his image over the past four years. A Trump campaign spokesman, Tim Murtaugh, said the committee had been in the works for a while.... Since the 2020 race was called on Saturday, Mr. Trump has told advisers he is seriously considering running again in 2024 if the vote is certified for Mr. Biden, a development earlier reported by Axios."
Elizabeth Culliford of Reuters: "... Donald Trump will be subject to the same Twitter Inc rules as any other user when President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20, the social media company confirmed this week. Twitter places 'public interest' notices on some rule-breaking tweets from 'world leaders' that would otherwise be removed. Such tweets from political candidates and elected or government officials are instead hidden by a warning and Twitter takes actions to restrict their reach. But the company said this treatment does not apply to former office holders.... Under Facebook Inc's policies, it appears that after Biden takes office in January, Trump's posts would also no longer be exempt from review by Facebook's third-party fact-checking partners." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Trump Fires Defense Secretary on Twitter. Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Monday, upending the military's leadership at a time when Mr. Trump's refusal to concede the election has created a rocky and potentially precarious transition. Mr. Trump announced the decision on Twitter, writing in an abrupt post that Mr. Esper had been 'terminated.' The president wrote that he was appointing Christopher C. Miller, whom he described as the 'highly respected' director of the National Counterterrorism Center, to be the acting defense secretary. Mr. Miller will be the fourth official to lead the Pentagon under Mr. Trump. Two White House officials said later on Monday that Mr. Trump was not finished, and that Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, and Gina Haspel, the C.I.A. director, could be next in line to be fired. Removing these senior officials -- in effect decapitating the nation's national security bureaucracy -- would be without parallel by an outgoing president who has just lost re-election.... The White House gave Mr. Esper only a few minutes'advance notice of his firing.... Two senior administration officials noted on Monday that Mr. Trump enjoyed firing people and had only two more months to do so. Mr. Esper's dismissal also gave the president the chance to reclaim some of the postelection headlines...." ~~~
~~~ Rebecca Kheel of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday announced he had fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper.... 'I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately, Trump said in a series of tweets. 'Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.'... Earlier Thursday, NBC News reported that Esper had prepared a letter of resignation...." Mrs. McC: According to CNN, Trump did not allow Esper to submit the resignation letter, preferring to fire him on Twitter to cause Esper maximum humiliation. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: An array of experts & Democratic officials have said that switching out the Defense Department leadership during a presidential transition makes the U.S. more vulnerable to bad acts by foreign aggressors. As Nisky Guy pointed out in yesterday's Comments thread, it doesn't help that last week Trump fired the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Bonnie Glick. Obviously, to fire the heads of the CIA & FBI could only make the situation more dangerous. But, what the hell, "Mr. Trump enjoys firing people." See also Akhilleus' comment below titled "Interregnum Interruptus?" He's right about that 9/11 report. Hasn't Trump killed enough Americans yet? ~~~
~~~ "God Help Us." Meghann Myers of the Military Times conducts Mark Esper's exit interview. Self-serving, of course, but a good reprise of some of Esper's conflicts with Trump. "... he has no regrets about how he handled himself. 'At the end of the day, it's as I said -- you've got to pick your fights,' he said. 'I could have a fight over anything, and I could make it a big fight, and I could live with that -- why? Who's going to come in behind me? It's going to be a real "yes man." And then God help us.'" ~~~
~~~ Update. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... within an hour of his firing, we found out Esper had set himself up as a truth teller whose firing presages a grim two months ahead. Esper suggested in a preemptively conducted Military Times exit interview that he was fired because he declined to bend the knee to Trump. And in so doing, he warned of what's to come.... That one of Trump's Cabinet officials would literally say 'God help us' about a situation in which we now find ourselves should send shock waves through our body politic.... Esper overstated his true history of standing up to Trump.... Esper played the Trump game -- and much more so than he let on in his Military Times interview."
Zack Colman & Alex Guillen of Politico: "The White House has removed the head of the program that produces the federal government's most definitive scientific report on climate change, according to three sources with knowledge of the move. Michael Kuperberg had worked as executive director of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which produces the National Climate Assessment. The move comes just days after the White House tapped Betsy Weatherhead to lead the sweeping climate study. Weatherhead joined the U.S. Geological Survey after working at climate analytics firm Jupiter Intelligence.... Kuperberg's departure comes in the wake of the Trump administration hiring of David Legates, an academic at the University of Delaware who has written that 'carbon dioxide is plant food and is not a pollutant,' to a newly created political position at NOAA.... Kuperberg's reassignment is the latest in a string of high-level personnel moves to remove officials deemed insufficiently loyal to ... Donald Trump after his reelection loss.... On Friday, Neil Chatterjee was removed as FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] chair on Friday after advocating for opening up markets to renewable sources and exploring carbon pricing."
AP & Nexstar Wire via WGN: "The White House is instructing federal agencies to fire political appointees of ... Donald Trump who are looking for job opportunities after Trump's election defeat to President-elect Joe Biden. A senior administration official says presidential personnel director John McEntee, the president's former personal aide, told White House liaisons at departments that they should terminate any political appointees seeking new work while Trump has refused to accept the electoral results." Mrs. McC: Almost anybody who goes to work for Trump deserves what s/he gets, but even by Trump's standards, this is harsh. These people, rotters though they may be, will be fired for even seeking to keep themselves off the dole come January. Because Trump's fee-fees, I suppose. ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Hunter Walker of Yahoo! News: “Two days after Joe Biden was declared the winner in the presidential election, President Trump and his allies have vowed to keep on fighting, but his campaign team has already let go of some staff and isn't extending others beyond this week, multiple sources told Yahoo News. 'They just laid off people,' a former Trump campaign adviser said Monday."
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here: "The United States topped 10 million coronavirus cases on Monday, the sixth consecutive day with a six-figure increase in infections."
Dan Goldberg & Alice Ollstein of Politico: "The United States' surging coronavirus outbreak is on pace to hit nearly 1 million new cases a week by the end of the year -- a scenario that could overwhelm health systems across much of the country and further complicate President-elect Joe Biden's attempts to coordinate a response."
Zachary Brennan of Politico: "The FDA has authorized the emergency use of Eli Lilly's antibody treatment for the coronavirus. The drug, known as a monoclonal antibody, mimics the body's natural defenses against the virus. The emergency authorization, which FDA released Monday, allows the drug to be used in adults and children over the age of 12 with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms who are at high risk of progressing to severe disease or requiring hospitalization. Lilly has published limited data from a late-stage trial showing that the antibody reduces the amount of virus in a person's body, and seems to speed recovery. The drug has been tested on patients in and out of hospital settings with mixed success."
Ben Popken of NBC News: "Pfizer is marshaling a massive new cold-storage supply chain to handle the delicate dance of transporting limited doses of its coronavirus vaccine from manufacturer to any point of use within two days. Experts say it will be a 'Herculean effort' requiring several new technologies to work in flawless concert to safely deliver every dose of the drug. Pfizer said it plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization next week, when it has the required two months of safety data.... The company announced Monday morning that long-awaited initial results in its blind trial, which had been expected to be released before the end of October, showed more than 90 percent efficacy. Pfizer said it had briefed President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, as well as ... Donald Trump's administration." Mrs. McC: Their notifying Biden must have irritated Trump, so that's another good thing. ~~~
~~~ From the Washington Post's live election updates Monday, also linked above: (free to non-subscribers): "Vice President Pence on Monday [falsely] credited Operation Warp Speed for the announcement by drugmaker Pfizer that an analysis of its coronavirus vaccine trial suggested it was highly effective in preventing covid-19, even though Pfizer did not join the Trump administration initiative.... In an interview with the New York Times, Kathrin Jansen, a senior vice president at Pfizer and head of its vaccine research and development, sought to distance the company from the initiative and presidential politics. 'We were never part of the Warp Speed,' she said. 'We have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Pence Lied & Junior Floats a "Nefarious" Conspiracy. TMZ: The Smarter Brother "has his tinfoil hat on Monday morning -- he thinks the promising COVID vaccine news coming out right after the election is more than coincidence ... he's insinuating the drug company held its findings back till after the election so Trump wouldn't get a bounce and possibly win as a result. Donald Trump Jr.'s response to Pfizer developing a coronavirus vaccine that may be more than 90 percent effective ... 'Nothing nefarious about the timing of this at all right?' [he tweeted].... President-elect Biden says he was informed of the vaccine development Sunday night and says, 'I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "David Bossie, a conservative activist who is not a lawyer but who is nonetheless coordinating the Trump campaign's post-election legal strategy, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Bloomberg News's Jennifer Jacobs reported on Monday.... A longtime ally of Trump's, Bossie has served since 2010 as the president and chairman of Citizens United -- the group whose eponymous U.S. Supreme Court victory paved the way for unlimited corporate political expenditures." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) According to the New York Times, Bossie attended Trump's super-spreader "victory" party.
Paulina Firozi & Seung Min Kim> of the Washington Post: "Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson has tested positive for the coronavirus, a HUD spokesman confirmed. Carson was at the White House on Tuesday for the election night party. The diagnosis comes days after news of a fresh wave of coronavirus infections at the White House, with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and five other Trump aides having received positive test results in the time around Election Day." This is a breaking news story. (Also linked yesterday.)
Mark Sherman of the AP: "A week after the 2020 election, Republican elected officials and the Trump administration are advancing their latest arguments to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, a long-held GOP goal that has repeatedly failed in Congress and the courts. In arguments scheduled for Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear its third major fight over the 10-year-old law.... Republican attorneys general in 18 states and the administration want the whole law to be struck down, which would threaten coverage for more than 23 million people. It would wipe away protections for people with preexisting medical conditions, subsidized insurance premiums that make coverage affordable for millions of Americans and an expansion of the Medicaid program that is available to low-income people in most states. California is leading a group of Democratic-controlled states that is urging the court to leave the law in place." ~~~
~~~ Paige Cunningham of the Washington Post lays out the underlying issues the justices are set to consider in deciding the ACA case. AND "A ruling on the case isn't expected until next spring -- and may not come until June if the justices are deeply divided."
As the Halo Slips. What John Paul Knew. Chico Harlan of the Washington Post: "A Vatican report examining the career of Theodore McCarrick says that Pope John Paul II had been informed that the then-bishop shared a bed with young men but decided nonetheless to appoint McCarrick to new and powerful positions within the church. Providing unprecedented detail into a major abuse case, the report shows how the church again and again received clues about McCarrick's misconduct with young adults, but either dismissed them as unsubstantiated or chose to listen to McCarrick's own defense. McCarrick, who was defrocked last year after the abuse of minors also came to light, wrote a letter to John Paul II's personal secretary in 2000 in which he said he had never had sexual relations with any person. Months later, the now-sainted pontiff appointed McCarrick as archbishop of Washington.... After John Paul II's death, Pope Benedict received warnings about McCarrick as well -- including from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who suggested a canonical inquiry. But Benedict chose not to apply formal penalties. Instead, the McCarrick was told -- orally and then in writing -- to keep a lower profile and minimize travel 'for the good of the Church.' McCarrick ignored the instructions." The AP's story is here.
News Lede
AP: "Cities in South Florida mopped up after Tropical Storm Eta flooded some urban areas with a deluge that swamped entire neighborhoods and filled some homes with rising water that did not drain for hours. It was the 28th named storm in a busy hurricane season, and the first to make landfall in Florida. This year tied the record with 2005, when Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma struck the Gulf Coast. But that was before Theta formed late Monday night over the northeast Atlantic, becoming the basin's 29th named storm to eclipse the 2005 record. After striking Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killing nearly 70 people from Mexico to Panama, Eta swept over South Florida, then moved Monday into the Gulf of Mexico near where the Everglades meet the sea, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph)."
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