About the Texas Lawsuit  —  Ken Paxton, the Attorney General of Texas, is under a federal investigation and would love a presidential pardon.  His lawsuit is just more performative leg humping by someone desperate to curry favor with President Trump.  —  The various attorneys general …

Republicans Are Going Down a Dangerous Road  —  Republicans' tolerance, if not active support, for President Donald Trump's ongoing bid to overturn the 2020 election has crystallized a stark question: Does the GOP still qualify as a small-d democratic party—or is it morphing into something very different?

Biden taps Susan Rice for top White House domestic policy job  —  President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Barack Obama's former national security adviser Susan Rice to run the White House Domestic Policy Council, according to people familiar with the decision.  —  Rice, who also served …

Dianne Feinstein's Missteps Raise a Painful Age Question Among Senate Democrats  —  In a hearing on November 17th, Dianne Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who, at eighty-seven, is the oldest member of the Senate, grilled a witness.

N.H. House Speaker Dick Hinch died from COVID-19, medical examiner finds  —  New Hampshire House Speaker Dick Hinch died from COVID-19, a medical examiner ruled Thursday following his unexpected death.  —  Hinch, who was only sworn in as leader of the state's newly Republican-led Legislature a week ago, died Wednesday.

In leaked recording, Biden says GOP used defund the police to ‘beat the living hell’ out of Democrats  —  WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden appeared to blame the “Defund the Police” movement for contributing to surprising Democratic downballot losses in the November election …

Trump and Friends Got Coronavirus Care Many Others Couldn't  —  Rudolph W. Giuliani became the latest in President Trump's inner circle to boast about the treatment he received for Covid-19, as hospitals across the country ration care.  —  WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, Chris Christie …

CDC's Redfield told staff to delete email, official tells House watchdog  —  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield instructed staff to delete an email from a Trump political appointee seeking control over the agency's scientific reports on the pandemic …

Relax, A Trump Comeback In 2024 Is Not Going To Happen  —  Donald Trump lost the presidency, but his opponents so far have not achieved the victory they want most: A fatal puncturing of the Trump movement, a repudiation so complete that it severs his astonishing grip on supporters and leaves …

Sen. David Perdue Sold His Home to a Finance Industry Official Whose Organization Was Lobbying the Senate  —  The same year FINRA was lobbying the Senate on a bill, one of its board governors paid Perdue $1.8 million for his D.C. townhouse.  Perdue sits on the Senate Banking Committee, which oversaw the bill.

Trump virus coordinator Birx seeks role in Biden government  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — When Dr. Deborah Birx was brought into President Donald Trump's orbit to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, she had a sterling reputation as a former U.S. Army physician, a globally recognized AIDS researcher and a rare Obama administration holdover.

What Really Saved the Republic From Trump?  —  It wasn't our constitutional system of checks and balances.  —  Mr. Wu is a law professor at Columbia University.  —  Americans are taught that the main function of the U.S. Constitution is the control of executive power: curtailing presidents who might seek to become tyrants.

Republicans throw cold water on bipartisan Covid proposal  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's staff told other congressional leaders on Wednesday that the bipartisan coronavirus negotiators will be unlikely to satisfy Senate Republicans, according to a senior Democrat familiar with the conversations.

Shutdown a possibility as Rand holds up defense bill  —  Rand Paul is at it again.  And his moves could force another brief government shutdown.  —  The Kentucky Republican is objecting to swift passage of the annual defense policy bill, effectively forcing senators to remain in Washington …

Va. governor imposes curfew while toughening restrictions; Pr.  George's to eliminate indoor dining  —  The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free.  For more free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter where all stories are free to read.

Fiery crash of SpaceX's Starship rocket ignites dreams of future spaceflight  —  Elon Musk is reshaping a remote South Texas shoreline to build and test the largest space launch system the world has ever seen.  Spaceflight—and the once quiet beach—will never be the same.

Justice Department's interest in Hunter Biden covered more than taxes  —  The federal investigation into President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter has been more extensive than a statement from Hunter Biden indicates, according to a person with firsthand knowledge of the investigation.

Cohn Shrugs Off Goldman's Demand for Pay With Check to Charity  — Bank pressed former president to return more than $10 million  — It was part of broader show of accountability for 1MDB scandal  —  Gary Cohn left Goldman Sachs Group Inc. squirming with his unwillingness to send back millions in pay.

The “Intellectual” Right's Assault on Democracy  —  Politicians have constituents to please, but what about the “thinkers” of the Trumpist right?  —  The politics of intimidation has worked well for Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president in 2015.

‘How Many Fact Checkers Do They Have?’  —  Inside the battle between Biden and Facebook.  —  Opinion Writer at Large  —  In the days after the election, several senior Biden campaign workers talked with me about their public confrontation with Facebook, the world's biggest social media platform.

Billionaire behind pardon effort pledged massive donation to Trump: Sources  —  Despite $6 million in donations to the president, no pardon was ever issued.  —  Justice Department investigates possible bribery for pardons  —  Speculation has swirled that President Trump may pardon …

How Immigrant Communities Beat Back ICE and Helped Flip Georgia  —  Now these organizers are tackling the January runoffs for the U.S. Senate.  —  Growing up in Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the northeastern Atlanta suburbs, Jonathan Zuñiga remembers the fear his parents felt driving to the grocery store.

Flynn's case finally ends — but not before Judge Sullivan flogs a corpse  —  Gen. Michael Flynn's three-year odyssey in the criminal justice system finally came to an end this week with the long-delayed dismissal of his case in federal court.  Ultimately, it took a presidential pardon …