Top Items:
Axios:
Scoop: Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman says Trump lost — It's over. That's what Blackstone chairman, CEO and co-founder Steve Schwarzman — one of President Trump's most loyal allies — and other top Republicans are signaling to the defeated president, 16 days after Joe Biden clinched the win.
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Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Election 2020's Endgame — Today on the menu: States are certifying their votes, and Trump's legal team is in turmoil. — The 2020 Election Starts to Wind Down — Michigan and Pennsylvania are set to certify their election results today, and Nevada is scheduled to do the same tomorrow.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Washington Post and LGBTQ Nation
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Byron York's Daily Memo: What next for Trump legal team? — Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter. — Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive the newsletter. — WHAT NEXT FOR TRUMP LEGAL TEAM? The Trump campaign's top lawyers — Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell …
Discussion:
the way of improvement …, IJR and Power Line
Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:
Trump legal team shuns Sidney Powell as insiders and national security officials see no evidence supporting her voting machine claims
Trump legal team shuns Sidney Powell as insiders and national security officials see no evidence supporting her voting machine claims
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, National Review, RedState, News Corpse, Axios, The Federalist, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Breitbart, Power Line, Reuters, Townhall, HotAir, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IJR, The Right Scoop, New York Post, Washington Times, Lucianne RSS Syndicate and The Philadelphia Inquirer
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Trump campaign cuts Sidney Powell from president's legal team
Trump campaign cuts Sidney Powell from president's legal team
Discussion:
National Review, Outside the Beltway, WayneDupree.com, Washington Examiner, Newsmax, Business Insider, TheBlaze, Townhall, Reason and Power Line
New York Times:
Biden Chooses Antony Blinken, Defender of Global Alliances, as Secretary of State — The president-elect is also expected to name Jake Sullivan, another close aide of his, as national security adviser, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year Foreign Service veteran, as his ambassador to the U.N.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, Vox, USA Today, CBS News, Jerusalem Post, Washington Examiner, American Prospect, Atlantic Council, The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars, Outside the Beltway, Al Jazeera, NPR, National Review, Japan Times, UPI, Townhall, Business Insider, Althouse, Balloon Juice, New York Post and The Week
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Washington Post:
Biden to nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of state, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.N. ambassador — Jake Sullivan, another top Biden adviser, is also expected to be named as national security adviser — President-elect Joe Biden is planning to announce that he has selected Antony Blinken …
Discussion:
USA Today, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Politico, HotAir, Balloon Juice and The Week
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Democrats expect Biden to name Linda Thomas-Greenfield UN ambassador
Democrats expect Biden to name Linda Thomas-Greenfield UN ambassador
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Politico, CNN, New York Post, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Fox News and Election Law Blog
NBC News:
With nearly all votes counted, the 2020 presidential election wasn't that close — WASHINGTON — What's gotten lost in all of the focus on President Trump's lawsuits, his baseless accusations of voter fraud and his administration's unwillingness so far to begin the transition is a simple fact.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Detroit Free Press
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Detroit Free Press:
Refusing to certify legitimate votes is a felony — The people have spoken. They delivered Joe Biden a decisive electoral victory, including a 150,000-vote margin in Michigan. Yet Republican Party officials have asked the Michigan Board of State Canvassers to delay certification on Monday.
Discussion:
Voter Protection Program and UPI
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
The Republican Party has split in two. Let's keep it that way. — The Republican Party has split in two. The dividing line is not ideological. To the contrary, if anything, the collapse of a once great party during the Trump era demonstrates that ideology is secondary in politics; values, norms and character are primary.
Discussion:
American Greatness, Israpundit, Fortune, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call and Raw Story
Richard L. Hasen / New York Times:
Trump's Legal Farce Is Having Tragic Results — There is nothing funny about the Republican Party's multipronged attack on voting rights. — Mr. Hasen is the author of “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust and the Threat to American Democracy.” — Even as the campaign lawsuits brought …
Discussion:
CNN, Digby's Hullabaloo, Persuasion, JONATHAN TURLEY, NPR, New Republic, TheGrio, Politico and Wall Street Journal
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New York Times:
Republicans Rewrite an Old Playbook on Disenfranchising Black Americans
Republicans Rewrite an Old Playbook on Disenfranchising Black Americans
Discussion:
Washington Times, Election Law Blog, NPR and Washington Post
James Gordon / Daily Mail:
Trump attorney Lin Wood tells Republican supporters NOT to back GOP candidates in the Georgia runoff election because they've ‘failed’ to help the President's fight to overturn the election — Trump Attorney Lin Wood has suggested voters should not back Republican candidates David Perdue (R-GA) and Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA)
Discussion:
The American Independent and Conservative News Today
NBC News:
Trump set on veto of defense bill over renaming bases honoring Confederates — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is threatening to veto legislation to fund the military as one of his final acts in office unless a widely supported, bipartisan provision to rename military bases honoring …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, Florida Politics and Raw Story
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
Why Won't Emily Murphy Just Do Her Job? — I don't know for certain that Emily Murphy gets up in the morning, looks in the mirror and says to herself, “You are a good person.” But I am willing to bet that she does. Most people in her position—most people who are undermining the rules of their group …
Associated Press:
3rd major COVID-19 vaccine shown to be effective and cheaper — LONDON (AP) — Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective, giving public health officials hope they may soon have access to a vaccine that is cheaper …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, CNN, CBS News, HotAir, ox.ac.uk, Slate and NBC 6 South Florida
RELATED:
Jenny Strasburg / Wall Street Journal:
AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine Up to 90% Effective in Late-Stage Trials
AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine Up to 90% Effective in Late-Stage Trials
Discussion:
Fortune, MIT Technology Review, Forbes, The Guardian and Japan Times
New York Times:
Business Leaders, Citing Damage to Country, Urge Trump to Begin Transition — At the urging of New York's attorney general, business leaders in New York push for the Trump administration to begin a transfer of power. — Concerned that President Trump's refusal to accept the election results …
Discussion:
Georgia Recorder, Forbes and POLITICUSUSA
John Ellis / Medium:
Trump 2024. — Losing a presidential election is a crushing experience. In 2004, shortly before midnight on the day of the election, it became clear that President Bush would win Ohio and thus win re-election. The networks, out of an abundance of caution, didn't call it until later the next day.
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Politico:
Republicans dash to defend perilous 2022 Senate map — Sen. Chuck Grassley will be 89 when the 2022 midterm campaign rolls around. Republicans are counting on him to run for an eighth term. — “I hope Chuck Grassley comes back. He's very healthy and I hope he comes back really strong.
Discussion:
Raw Story
David Dayen / American Prospect:
Biden Can Echo Trump's Favorite Phrase: 'You're Fired' — The president-elect has the power to get rid of Trump loyalists in a number of agencies on day one. — A good number of appointees throughout the government serve at the pleasure of the president, and Biden should use that power.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Washington Post:
Republican national security experts call on Trump to concede, begin transition — A group of leading GOP national security experts — including former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge — urged congressional Republicans on Monday to demand President Trump concede the election …
Discussion:
The American Independent and The Daily Caller
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Get Me Meacham! Biden Brings Back the Media's Good Old Days — The next president promises to do for old-line newspaper columnists what Donald Trump did for cable. What a time to be George Will! — One afternoon in the spring of 2009, Jon Meacham sat in front of the freighted wooden bookshelf …
Discussion:
the way of improvement …, Althouse and WTOP, more at Mediagazer »
Ryan Streeter / The Dispatch:
Trumpism Is More About Culture Than Economics — And it's not a reason for the GOP to embrace protectionism and populism. — 2 hr ago — The question of whether Trumpism will survive a Trump presidency was answered affirmatively after the November 3 election by a number of commentators and politicians …
Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:
Republicans: Calculating, not Cowards — The sense that the GOP only puts up with Trump out of fear masks the much scarier reality of who they are and what they are capable of doing. — 1 hr ago — First, let's get a few things straight: — Joe Biden is going to be the next President.
Discussion:
Reuters, Business Insider, Washington Post, CNBC, Raw Story and New Jersey Globe