Barr Hands Prosecutors the Authority to Investigate Voter Fraud Claims  —  The attorney general said that he had authorized “instances” of investigative steps but that inquiries should not be based on specious claims.  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr …

Growing Discomfort at Law Firms Representing Trump in Election Lawsuits  —  Some lawyers at Jones Day and Porter Wright, which have filed suits about the 2020 vote, said they were worried about undermining the electoral system.  —  Like many big law firms, Jones Day, whose roots …

Helping to Shape the Words of the President-Elect: A Presidential Historian  —  Jon Meacham, best known for writing about past presidents like Andrew Jackson and George Bush, has helped shape some of Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s most significant speeches.  —  WASHINGTON — Jon Meacham …

White House, escalating tensions, orders agencies to rebuff Biden transition team  —  The Trump White House on Monday instructed its senior government leaders to block cooperation with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, escalating a standoff that threatens to impede his takeover of the federal government in January.

Top Mississippi Republicans Fail to Acknowledge Biden Victory as Fitch Joins Trump Lawsuit  —  Two days after all major national networks called the 2020 presidential election for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, none of Mississippi's top Republican leaders has acknowledged the Democrats' victory.

Trump Plans PAC in Hopes of Keeping Hold on G.O.P.  —  The PAC could accept donations from an unlimited number of people and spend to benefit other candidates, allowing the president to retain influence in a party remade largely in his image.  —  President Trump is planning to form …

Trump's election challenge is continuing, but the campaign is already shedding staff  —  WASHINGTON — 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 …

Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., Trump evangelical adviser, has died  —  Bishop Harry Jackson of Maryland speaks at the unveiling of the “Justice Declaration,” a statement by Christian leaders on criminal justice, in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2017.  RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks  —  Flip

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.

Trump campaign sues to halt Pennsylvania from certifying Biden win  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign on Monday filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania federal court, seeking an emergency injunction to stop state officials from certifying Joe Biden's victory in the state.

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.

Nate Cohn Explains What the Polls Got Wrong  —  Last week, Joe Biden was elected the forty-sixth President of the United States, defeating Donald Trump by what is likely to be several percentage points nationwide.  The margins in crucial swing states, however, were closer than polling averages suggested that they would be.

Trump Administration Removes Scientist in Charge of Assessing Climate Change  —  Michael Kuperberg was told he would no longer oversee the National Climate Assessment.  The job is expected to go to a climate-change skeptic, according to people familiar with the changes.

Trump's quest to end the Affordable Care Act arrives at Supreme Court  —  The latest legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act comes Tuesday before a reconstituted Supreme Court, during a pandemic, in a rapidly changing political environment.  —  All of those factors are likely to play …

White House official and former GOP political operative Michael Ellis named as NSA general counsel  —  The Pentagon general counsel has named a White House official and former GOP political operative to be the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, the U.S. government's largest …

No Evidence of Systematic Fraud in U.S. Elections, International Observer Mission Reports  —  A team of international observers invited by the Trump administration has issued a preliminary report giving high marks to the conduct of last week's elections—and it criticizes President …

Saeb Erekat, Top Palestinian Peace Negotiator, Dies at 65 After Contracting COVID  —  He was close to both Arafat and Abbas, and considered one of the main voices of the Palestinians on the world stage  —  Dr. Saeb Erekat, a prominent Palestinian negotiator and Secretary General …