Top Items:
CNN:
Trump fires Secretary of Defense Mark Esper — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Monday that he has fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and that Christopher Miller, who serves as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will become acting secretary “effective immediately.”
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Meghann Myers / Military Times:
Exclusive: Esper, on his way out, says he was no yes man — As had long been expected, President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, cutting short what would have otherwise been his final months at the Pentagon, in anticipation of President-elect Joe Biden's transition in January.
Tom Vanden Brook / USA Today:
President Trump fires Defense Secretary Mark Esper
President Trump fires Defense Secretary Mark Esper
Discussion:
ABC News, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, Washington Times, National Review, KTLA, Reuters and The Root
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Trump privately discussing 2024 run — President Trump has already told advisers he's thinking about running for president again in 2024, two sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios. — Why it matters: This is the clearest indication yet that Trump understands he has lost …
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Quint Forgey / Politico:
Trump campaign adviser: Conceding ‘is not even in our vocabulary right now’
Trump campaign adviser: Conceding ‘is not even in our vocabulary right now’
Discussion:
Power Line, Brookings, CBS News, IJR, The Hill and No More Mister Nice Blog
Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Money raised for Trump's election fights would help cover campaign debt
Money raised for Trump's election fights would help cover campaign debt
Discussion:
Politico, Rolling Stone and NBC News
Axios:
McConnell defends Trump's refusal to concede to Biden — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) celebrated Republicans' congressional victories and defended President Trump's refusal to concede to Joe Biden, saying on the Senate floor Monday that Trump has “every right to look into allegations and request recounts.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, Associated Press, Newsbusters, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, New York Post and Althouse
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David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
GOP fears conceding Trump loss would spark base revolt and loss of seats — Top Republicans in Washington are reluctant to call Joe Biden the president-elect publicly, fearing a rebellion by grassroots conservatives loyal to President Trump that would sink the party's Senate majority.
Discussion:
ABC News, CBS News, BuzzFeed News, Washington Post, New York Times, Twin Cities, KTLA and Politico
Mike Allen / Axios:
Scoop: Trump allies brace for 30-day legal war — GOP leaders and confidants of President Trump tell Axios his legal fight to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory — which they admit is likely doomed — could last a month or more, possibly pushing the 2020 political wars toward Christmastime.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Politico, The Hill, Fox News, Washington Post, RedState, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Week, Althouse, Business Insider and Political Wire
Quint Forgey / Politico:
Ossoff says Georgia Dems ‘have the wind at our backs’ ahead of Senate runoffs
Ossoff says Georgia Dems ‘have the wind at our backs’ ahead of Senate runoffs
Discussion:
Townhall, Talking Points Memo, RedState, The Federalist, NBC News and The Hill
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Graham: Trump should consider running again in 2024 if he loses
Graham: Trump should consider running again in 2024 if he loses
Discussion:
New Republic, Fox News and Townhall
New York Times:
Pfizer's Early Data Shows Vaccine Is More Than 90% Effective — Pfizer announced positive early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, cementing the lead in a frenzied global race that has unfolded at record-breaking speed. — The drug maker Pfizer announced on Monday that an early analysis …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Federalist, Pfizer, HotAir, Al Jazeera, Alternet.org, Bloomberg, CNN, Washington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, Slate, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Breitbart, Crooks and Liars, Business Insider, Calculated Risk, IJR, COURIER, The American Independent, Townhall, Spectator USA, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, The Week, KTLA, CBS Philly, POLITICUSUSA, Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Times of India, Rolling Stone and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
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Matthew Herper / STAT:
Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is strongly effective, early data from large trial indicate
Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is strongly effective, early data from large trial indicate
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNBC, Fortune, Japan Times, KTLA, The Verge, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, Hackwhackers and Marginal REVOLUTION
Pfizer:
Pfizer and BioNTech Announce Vaccine Candidate Against COVID-19 Achieved Success in First Interim Analysis from Phase 3 Study
Pfizer and BioNTech Announce Vaccine Candidate Against COVID-19 Achieved Success in First Interim Analysis from Phase 3 Study
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, The Guardian, In the Pipeline, Washington Post, MarketWatch, ABC News, CBS Boston, Business Insider, Fox News, The Western Journal, Reason, Forbes, The Hill, UPI, CBS News, Deseret News and The Week
Carolyn Y. Johnson / Washington Post:
Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is more than 90 percent effective in first analysis, company reports
Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is more than 90 percent effective in first analysis, company reports
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Newsweek, Fortune, New York Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Twitchy, The Daily Signal, Raw Story, The Week, Politico and Fox News
Politico:
GOP-led states back Trump's legal drive to challenge election — Republican-controlled state governments on Monday began throwing their weight behind President Donald Trump's legal drive to challenge the results of last week's presidential election. — A coalition of Republican attorneys general filed …
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Maryclaire Dale / Associated Press:
Trump faces long odds in challenging state vote counts — Republican surrogates for President Donald Trump resumed their legal fight Monday to try to stop the vote count in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, but faced long odds given the Electoral College tally …
Discussion:
USA Today
Susannah Luthi / Politico:
Obamacare faces Supreme Court remade by Trump
Obamacare faces Supreme Court remade by Trump
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, New York Post, Mercury News, Fox News, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, CNN and Axios
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Trump Adviser Leading Post-Election Legal Fight Has Coronavirus — Aide David Bossie was diagnosed Sunday in White House test — Bossie helping with strategy after Meadows tested positive — David Bossie, an outside adviser to Donald Trump who is leading his post-election fight over vote counts …
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Beast
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Matt Friedman / Politico:
Man featured at Giuliani press conference is a convicted sex offender — The first person Rudy Giuliani, the attorney for President Donald Trump, called up as a witness to baseless allegations of vote counting shenanigans in Philadelphia during a press conference last week is a sex offender …
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Politico:
Cheri Bustos won't run for DCCC chief after House Dem losses — House Democratic campaign chief Cheri Bustos announced Monday that she would not seek reelection, days after an unexpected string of losses that could end up costing the caucus nearly a dozen seats.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and The Federalist
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Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Scoop: Rep. Tony Cárdenas is running for chair of House Democrats' campaign arm
Scoop: Rep. Tony Cárdenas is running for chair of House Democrats' campaign arm
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Atlantic
Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
Barr OKs election probes despite little evidence of fraud — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the U.S. to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities before the 2020 presidential election is certified, despite little evidence of fraud.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, Washington Post and justoneminute.typepad.com
Theodore Schleifer / Vox:
The former CEO of Google has applied to become a citizen of Cyprus — Eric Schmidt is effectively buying a passport that he can use to enter the European Union. — The former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, is finalizing a plan to become a citizen of the island of Cyprus, Recode has learned …
Discussion:
The National Interest and New York Post
Transition / President-Elect Joe Biden:
Biden-Harris Transition Announces COVID-19 Advisory Board — Leading Public Health and Scientific Experts to Advise the Transition on COVID-19 Response — WASHINGTON - Today, the Biden-Harris Transition announced the formation of the Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CNN, Fortune, Townhall, USA Today, VICE, GovExec.com, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, The Western Journal, Vox, New York Times, The CT Mirror, The Intercept, NPR, Fox News and STAT
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Andrea Salcedo / Washington Post:
Utah governor declares emergency, issues mask mandate: ‘We cannot afford to debate this issue’ — For months, even as coronavirus cases have dramatically risen in his state, Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) has refused to order residents to wear a mask. But on Sunday, after the state's worst week yet …
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Norma Gonzalez / Salt Lake Tribune:
Utah governor orders statewide mask mandate, new coronavirus restrictions
Utah governor orders statewide mask mandate, new coronavirus restrictions
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Daily Caller and New York Post
Issues & Insights:
Of Course The Party Of Moral Authoritarianism Would Cheat On Elections — We and many others were warning months ago that the Democrats were going to try to steal the 2020 election. When the counting, recounting, and lawsuits are done, they might well have succeeded.
Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
We're still living in a 49% nation — In early 2001, in the wake of the closely contested 2000 presidential election, I wrote an Introduction to The Almanac of American Politics called “The 49 percent nation.” Not only was the popular vote for president 49% to 49%, but in each …
Jennifer Medina / New York Times:
How Democrats Missed Trump's Appeal to Latino Voters — The election was a referendum on Trump's America, but plenty of Latino voters liked it just fine. — PHOENIX — Democrats thought it would be enough. — After four years of draconian Trump immigration policies and divisive messaging …
Discussion:
ImmigrationProf Blog, CNN and Scripting News