memeorandum: Top Pentagon adviser resigns after Esper firing (Associated Press)

2:00 PM ET, November 10, 2020

Top Items:

The Jolt: The ‘orchestrated’ push to discredit Georgia's election sparks more GOP infighting — By Jim Galloway - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Patricia Murphy - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Greg Bluestein - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tia Mitchell - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Discussion: Politico, USA Today, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Fox News, Alternet.org, Media Matters for America, Law & Crime, Mediaite, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, NBC News and Political Wire

NBC News:

In appeasing Trump, the GOP toys with a constitutional crisis — WASHINGTON — In 2016, Donald Trump won Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by a combined 77,000 votes; he got 306 electoral votes; and he received a concession speech by Hillary Clinton and a White House meeting with Barack Obama 48 hours after the election.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, New York Times, The Daily Caller, NBC4 Washington, Raw Story, Breitbart and Associated Press

Washington Post:
Top Republicans back Trump's efforts to challenge election results

Discussion: Reuters, CNBC, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, electionlawblog.org, Politico, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox News, Business Insider, The Week, CNN, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Mediaite, Political Wire and Althouse

Charles Creitz / Fox News:
Sen. Joe Manchin: If Democrats win Senate, I won't support ‘crazy stuff’ like court packing

Discussion: National Review, Political Wire, New York Post and Roll Call

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Who's Going to Tell Him? Republicans Shy From Asking Trump to Concede

Discussion: Bloomberg, Portland Mercury, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Financial Times, The Week, Althouse and Political Wire

New York Times:

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 …

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Lame-duck Trump burrows loyalists inside government, starting with NSA

Discussion: Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Newsbusters, Common Dreams, The American Independent, Axios, Politico and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
DOJ's election crimes chief resigns after Barr directs prosecutors to probe voter fraud claims

Discussion: NPR, Reason, Washington Post, RedState, IJR, UPI, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Alternet.org

Politico:

Pentagon's top policy official resigns after clashing with the White House — The Pentagon's acting policy chief resigned on Tuesday after falling out of favor with the White House, raising fears of a post-election purge at the Defense Department. — The departure of James Anderson …

Discussion: Defense News, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Foreign Policy, Defense One, Raw Story, The Week, Washington Post and GovExec.com

Associated Press:

Top Pentagon adviser resigns after Esper firing — U.S. defense officials said James Anderson, the top policy adviser at the Pentagon, submitted his resignation Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Anderson has been the acting undersecretary for policy since June.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner and Alternet.org

Marcus Weisgerber / Defense One: Tata Tapped to Perform Duties of Defense Undersecretary for Policy

Washington Post:

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.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, COURIER, DCReport.org, ABC News, HotAir, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, CNN, Raw Story, Sputnik News, Washington Free Beacon, Bloomberg, The Western Journal, Vox, Axios and USA Today

Ed O'Keefe / CBS News:
Biden team considering legal options if Trump administration keeps stalling the transition

Discussion: Axios, Reuters and The Week

Jess Bravin / Wall Street Journal:
No Evidence of Systematic Fraud in U.S. Elections, International Observer Mission Reports

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios and HotAir

Wall Street Journal:
Biden Weighs Legal Action to Force Trump Administration to Recognize Win

Discussion: Washington Times

Andrew Restuccia / Wall Street Journal:
Biden Team Pushes Trump Administration to Stop Blocking Transition Resources

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, ABC News, Just Security, Business Insider and Raw Story

Jim Acosta / CNN:

Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle make moves to expand RNC influence and possibly takeover, sources say — (CNN)Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle are making moves to expand their influence at the Republican National Committee, three GOP sources, including advisers to the President tell CNN.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Mock Paper Scissors and Raw Story

CNN:

Republican National Committee staff blindsided by layoffs — (CNN)A round of layoffs at the Republican National Committee Monday blindsided staff, three sources familiar with what happened told CNN, as President Donald Trump continues his legal push to contest Joe Biden's victory.

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:

GOP tries again to get high court to ax health care law — WASHINGTON (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.

Discussion: CBS News

Susannah Luthi / Politico:
Supreme Court appears wary of striking down Obamacare

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, NBC News, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, UPI, IJR and 6abc

USA Today:
Supreme Court, again, entertains Republican challenge to Obamacare

Discussion: Bloomberg, Associated Press and Constitution Daily

Nina Totenberg / NPR:
Will Supreme Court Invalidate Obamacare A Decade After It Was Enacted?

Discussion: NBC News, The Atlantic, Forbes, The Root, The Week, Morning Consult and SCOTUSblog

Shane Harris / Washington Post:

As an ex-president, Trump could disclose the secrets he learned while in office, current and former officials fear — As president, Donald Trump selectively revealed highly classified information to attack his adversaries, gain political advantage and to impress or intimidate foreign governments …

Discussion: Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, NPR, New Yorker and Foreign Policy

Elana Fishman / Page Six:

How ‘SNL’ recreated Kamala Harris' white suit in under 90 minutes — When Kamala Harris took the stage in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday night around 8:30 p.m. to address the nation as its new vice president-elect, she did so wearing a white Carolina Herrera suit that nodded to the suffragette movement.

Discussion: The Wrap

New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller, HotAir, Mediaite, Althouse, Newsbusters, Washington Examiner and The Week

New York Times:
President-Elect Joe Biden's Transition Live Updates: Trump Starts PAC for Future Political Endeavors, and Biden Will Speak on Obamacare Case

Discussion: Forbes, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Washington Post, HotAir, Florida Politics, Ohio Capital Journal, The Atlantic, WSPA-TV, CNN, Al Jazeera and NBC10 Philadelphia

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

Be Alarmed — I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen amongst us. —Abraham Lincoln, Lyceum Address, January 27, 1838 I know, I know. Donald Trump is a petulant child, and congressional Republicans are just humoring him.

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: Washington Post, Florida Politics, Raw Story, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Alternet.org, HotAir, The Hill, Eschaton and electionlawblog.org

Dylan Matthews / Vox:

One pollster's explanation for why the polls got it wrong — Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on November 3. Xinhua/Joel Lerner via Getty Images — The kind of people who answer polls are really weird, and it's ruining polling.

Discussion: National Review

Katie Shepherd / Washington Post:

Felony charges filed against 19-year-old who allegedly bought rifle for Kyle Rittenhouse — 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.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, New York Post, The Root and The Daily Caller

Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:
Kyle Rittenhouse's Mom Says ‘Protesters Should Not Have Been There’ on Night He Shot Them

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, Forbes and Raw Story

Brookings:

Biden-voting counties equal 70% of America's economy. What does this mean for the nation's political-economic divide? — Even with a new president and political party soon in charge of the White House, the nation's economic standoff continues. Notwithstanding President-elect Joe Biden's …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Louder With Crowder

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Trump Forms PAC in Hopes of Keeping Hold on G.O.P. — The PAC can 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 has formed …

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, Reuters, Washington Examiner, CBS News, New York Sun, Fox News, The Daily Beast, CNN, National Review, The Daily Caller, The Verge, IJR, Alaska Public Media, The Bulwark, One America News Network, HotAir and Full Feed

Arizona Republic:

Republican challenge to Maricopa County election involves fewer than 200 ballots, attorneys say — Maria Polletta Andrew OxfordArizona Republic — Republican officials behind a lawsuit alleging poll workers “incorrectly rejected” votes cast in person on Election Day will make their case …

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors and Talking Points Memo

Jeremy Turley / Grand Forks Herald:

With North Dakota hospitals at 100% capacity, Burgum announces COVID-positive nurses can stay at work — In an attempt to alleviate some of the staffing concerns, Burgum announced that the state health officer has amended an order that will allow health care workers with asymptomatic cases …

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

Politico:

'We're not some demonic cult': Democrats fume over faulty messaging — House Democrats have the majority and are ripping each other to shreds. Senate Democrats fell short for the third cycle in a row, but are only grousing about getting out-messaged by Republicans.

Discussion: Washington Post, HotAir, The Guardian, CNN, Washington Examiner, POLITICUSUSA, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC News, Infidel753 and Wall Street Journal

CNBC:

Amy Klobuchar considered for Biden Cabinet posts including attorney general and Agriculture secretary — Sen. Amy Klobuchar is being floated for a possible Cabinet post within President-elect Joe Biden's administration. — Her name has risen on the list of possible Cabinet appointees since Election …

Discussion: The Week

Joy Pullmann / The Federalist:

12 Ways For Trump To Bomb The Battlefield While Biden Claims The Presidency — President Trump needs a skunkworks team coming up with as many political land mines as possible to embed in the landscape against Democrats if Republicans are forced to retreat from the White House in January.

Discussion: USA Today, The Hill, National Review, Raw Story, McSweeney's, Balloon Juice, The Dispatch, New York Times, The Left Coaster, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Political Wire and The Atlantic

Mike Brest / Washington Examiner:

US permits emergency use of coronavirus antibody drug — The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of a coronavirus antibody treatment for certain patients. — On Monday, the FDA approved Eli Lilly & Co's bamlanivimab drug based on trial data that showed a lowered rate …

Discussion: CNN, CBS News, Washington Post, US Food and Drug …, National Review, The Daily Caller and Breitbart

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

The Brittle Grip, No. Infinity — As this election blurred forward I was taking notes for more editions of our “Brittle Grip” Series, the phenomenon of the super powerful and super rich feeling increasingly insecure in their power and wealth even as both wax.

Discussion: Alternet.org, The Root, Mercury News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Washington Post:

Why Texas's overwhelmingly Latino Rio Grande Valley turned toward Trump — SAN ANTONIO — While President-elect Joe Biden did not win Texas, he came closer than any Democratic presidential candidate in years, losing the state by six points — a narrowing made possible by Latino voters from urban strongholds.

Discussion: Politico

Matthew Lee / Associated Press:

US plans sale of F-35 fighter jets to UAE in $23B arms deal — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration formally notified Congress on Tuesday that it plans to sell 50 stealth F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates as part of a broader arms deal worth nearly a quarter billion dollars aimed …

Discussion: Reuters, Raw Story, Sputnik News and middleeastmonitor.com

Stuti Mishra / The Independent:

US police chief resigns over ‘death to all Democrats’ posts — Lang Holland, chief of police in Arkansas city of Marshall, wrote there should be ‘no survivors’ — A police chief in Arkansas has resigned after posting messages on a right-wing social media app calling for “death to all” Democrats.

Discussion: Friendly Atheist and PinkNews