talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--Vote So ‘It’s Not Even Close’: Biden Candid In Georgia About The New Normal

President-elect Joe Biden implored Georgians to turn out in great enough numbers so “ it ’ s not even close ” during a campaign stop in Atlanta on Tuesday , a candid assessment of the new undemocratic normal .
“ Turn out the vote so it ’ s not even close , ” Biden told a sea of cars at his COVID-19-proofed event .
“ Don ’ t give them any excuse.
” It ’ s a sobering assessment about where the country is weeks into President Donald Trump ’ s attempt to toss out election results in every single @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the Electoral College confirmed Biden to be the incoming President , the window has closed on Trump ’ s attempts to get the result of the election voided .
Trump would have had to get legally cast ballots thrown out in multiple states to alter the outcome .
Biden spent much of his brief remarks — punctuated by coughs brought on by his reported cold — discussing the attempts to hijack the election , specifically by Sens .
Kelly Loeffler ( R-GA ) and David Perdue ( R-GA ) .
He mentioned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to get the election results tossed in Georgia , along with Pennsylvania , Wisconsin and Michigan — in short , all of the swing states Trump lost .
The Supreme Court opted not to hear the case last week , citing Texas ’ lack of standing .
“ You might want to remember that come January 5 , ” Biden quipped .
Loeffler and Perdue have been keen to retain the support of Trump and his followers , calling for the resignation of Georgia ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up Trump ’ s baseless accusations of “ irregularities ” in the presidential contest .
Biden also used much of his time to impress upon listeners how integral electing Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock is to any kind of liberal legislative agenda .
Without them , Republicans retain Senate control .
If they win , the Senate is split 50-50 and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris gets the tie-break vote .
Biden ticked off issue areas on his legislative wishlist : COVID-19 relief , economic stimulus , climate change legislation , criminal justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differently his administration will handle the COVID-19 pandemic than the current one , he spoke directly to people who have lost loved ones to the disease , tapping into his well-known empathy .
“ Like many of you , I know what it feels like to lose someone who ’ s part of your heart , ” said Biden , who ’ s lost two children and his first wife .
“ I know how especially hard it is at this time of year , when you look across the table and see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Years.
” But there ’ s a light in the darkness , Biden said , pointing to the COVID-19 vaccine and the economic relief that could come about with a Democratically-controlled Senate .
“ There ’ s no limit to America ’ s future , ” he said , raising his voice .
“ The only thing that can tear America apart is America itself .
Let ’ s choose hope over fear .
”

President-elect Joe Biden implored Georgians to turn out in great enough numbers so “it’s not even close” during a campaign stop in Atlanta on Tuesday, a candid assessment of the new undemocratic normal.
“Turn out the vote so it’s not even close,” Biden told a sea of cars at his COVID-19-proofed event. “Don’t give them any excuse.”
It’s a sobering assessment about where the country is weeks into President Donald Trump’s attempt to toss out election results in every single swing state he lost. A day after the Electoral College confirmed Biden to be the incoming President, the window has closed on Trump’s attempts to get the result of the election voided. Trump would have had to get legally cast ballots thrown out in multiple states to alter the outcome.
Biden spent much of his brief remarks — punctuated by coughs brought on by his reported cold — discussing the attempts to hijack the election, specifically by Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA).
He mentioned Loeffler and Perdue supporting an absurd lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to get the election results tossed in Georgia, along with Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — in short, all of the swing states Trump lost. The Supreme Court opted not to hear the case last week, citing Texas’ lack of standing.
“You might want to remember that come January 5,” Biden quipped.
Loeffler and Perdue have been keen to retain the support of Trump and his followers, calling for the resignation of Georgia’s outspoken Secretary of State and backing up Trump’s baseless accusations of “irregularities” in the presidential contest.
Biden also used much of his time to impress upon listeners how integral electing Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock is to any kind of liberal legislative agenda. Without them, Republicans retain Senate control. If they win, the Senate is split 50-50 and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris gets the tie-break vote.
Biden ticked off issue areas on his legislative wishlist: COVID-19 relief, economic stimulus, climate change legislation, criminal justice reform and racial justice.
Showing how differently his administration will handle the COVID-19 pandemic than the current one, he spoke directly to people who have lost loved ones to the disease, tapping into his well-known empathy.
“Like many of you, I know what it feels like to lose someone who’s part of your heart,” said Biden, who’s lost two children and his first wife. “I know how especially hard it is at this time of year, when you look across the table and see that empty chair at Christmas or New Years.”
But there’s a light in the darkness, Biden said, pointing to the COVID-19 vaccine and the economic relief that could come about with a Democratically-controlled Senate.
“There’s no limit to America’s future,” he said, raising his voice. “The only thing that can tear America apart is America itself. Let’s choose hope over fear.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--The Trump Admin Has A Plan To Distribute The Vaccine — That Ends When Biden Takes Office

The COVID-19 vaccine is out , and it could turn into President Trump ’ s final dirty trick against Joe Biden .
Trump officials have been offering optimistic timeframes on vaccine distribution that both belie the complexity of what will be the greatest mass vaccination campaign in American history and could serve to set unrealistic expectations for the incoming Biden administration .
“ Late February , in the March time period , I think you ’ ll start seeing [ it ] much more like a flu vaccination campaign , ” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ failed to allocate the billions of dollars in funding that states say is necessary for the distribution effort .
It also comes as the Trump administration has planned out the initial phase of the distribution effort at the federal level , but left the subsequent phases — set to start after Biden takes office — to the unfunded states .
“ I just don ’ t see how that would happen , ” said Dr. Leana Wen , former Baltimore city health commissioner and a health policy professor at George Washington , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s an extremely optimistic projection that assumes everything is done perfectly , and when resources are so limited , that perfect execution is nearly impossible.
” Because the Trump administration has only planned out in detail how the vaccine will be administered to the first groups of recipients , and because of the timeline broadcast by officials like Azar , a potential public health and PR catastrophe awaits the Biden administration in its first weeks .
The lack of planning and funding at the state level could boil over just as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ available , and just after Biden takes office .
“ It ’ s obvious how this will go over , ” one state official told NBC , referring to the timing .
It also highlights the pressure placed on local officials to execute the vaccine rollout , and on the Trump administration to cooperate with the incoming Biden team .
“ Everyone is hoping for a smooth rollout with these priority groups being vaccinated in order to achieve mass vaccination by the summertime , but if any one part of that rollout misses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it can complicate the entire implementation in major ways , ” said Dr. Howard Koh , an assistant secretary for health under President Obama .
“ There are many , many ways that could happen , and this is where particularly the administration needs to work with the transition and Congress.
” With the Pfizer vaccine being injected en masse and Moderna ’ s set for emergency FDA approval this week , the inoculation campaign is underway .
The first waves of the vaccine are going out to two groups : frontline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or work at nursing homes .
Kaiser Family Foundations estimates that 17.6 million people fall into those categories .
Then the pool of those eligible for vaccinations would broaden to all of phase 1 — covering essential workers , those older than 65 , and those with preexisting conditions .
That , per Kaiser , could encompass over 100 million people .
Azar suggested that everyone in phase 1 will be vaccinated by the end of March .
That ’ s a very tall order — especially given that the Trump administration appears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1a , the initial 17.6 million , a category of people set to be vaccinated by around the time that Biden takes office .
The Trump administration has laid out a detailed plan to vaccinate that first category ; shots are being shipped out to hospitals around the country to ensure that frontline health-care workers are being vaccinated .
To inoculate nursing home residents , the Trump administration has made an exception to its pandemic-long rule of delegating authority to the states .
For this , Health and Human Services is footing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CVS , who will send vaccinators into nursing homes .
HHS heralded that policy as “ minimiz [ ing ] the burden on [ long-term care ] sites and jurisdictional health departments of vaccine handling , administration , and fulfilling reporting requirements.
” But there ’ s no similar federal role for vaccinating the rest of the country — everyone beyond that initial 17.6 million in the Trump administration ’ s plan .
Rather , what the government is planning to do after these first 17 million receive their doses is ship the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to them to administer .
Without plans in place for vaccination or the money needed to execute those plans , the scenario sets up the possibility of conspicuous delays in the distribution effort in the opening weeks of the Biden administration .
Gen. Gustave Perna , Operation Warp Speed ’ s chief operations officer , has said that his office will serve the needs of the states .
“ Our responsibility is to enable their plan , ” he said at a Dec. 2 press conference .
“ It ’ s the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make this a reality on the ground , ” Koh said .
He added that “ vaccination systems take years to build , be upgraded , and adjusted for any new threat.
” “ We need to help them to help us , ” he added .
An HHS spokeswoman told TPM that the Trump administration would pay for the vast majority of distribution costs — getting the vaccines to the states — and that a program to deliver the vaccine directly to pharmacies would alleviate the burden on local health departments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they need billions to effectively distribute the shot .
In this vacuum of a cohesive federal plan , the responsibility of managing and distributing the vaccine has been thrust onto the weary shoulders of state and municipal health departments and hospitals , beleaguered by months of battling the pandemic with too few resources and too little help .
As TPM reported , many of those officials are only just now turning their attention to the mammoth undertaking of vaccine distribution .
Some were unable to yet identify the gaps in funding they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off a mass vaccination campaign .
Others , while attempting to jerry-rig a safety net from rainy day funds or alternate revenue streams , have sounded the alarm about the catastrophe that could develop without critical funding from Congress .
Dr. Wen , the former Baltimore health commissioner , said that the final stretch of distribution — once Operation Warp Speed delivers the vaccine to state authorities — is the hardest to execute , and has received the least attention .
“ Once the vaccine becomes the responsibility of state governments it becomes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that last mile that is full of many potential roadblocks and where many issues could occur , ” Wen said .
Congress is running out of opportunities to act .
Currently , lawmakers are working on COVID-19 aid proposals to attach to a spending measure that must be passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown .
At the moment , there are two proposals floating around the Hill , produced by a bipartisan coalition of House and Senate members .
One , likely too politically freighted to pass , includes $ 160 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The other , much more likely to see the light of law , includes $ 6 billion for vaccine distribution .
The $ 6 billion is in line with the Trump administration ’ s estimates , but well below the $ 8.4 billion estimated to be needed by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and Association of Immunization Managers .
An HHS spokesperson told TPM that the CDC is additionally distributing $ 140 million this week for vaccine planning .
Some states , including the hard-hit Wisconsin , have been working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that funding .
Meanwhile , what aid Congress was able to pass in the CARES Act last spring is expiring .
The Treasury Department has been doling out aid from a $ 150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund to state , local and tribal governments who have needed it as the pandemic wallops their resources and drains their bank accounts .
But that money only covers COVID-19-related costs incurred from March 1 , 2020 to December 30 , 2020 .
In two weeks , that aid will be gone .
The lack of funding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccinators and conducting public awareness campaigns for the vaccine rollout that will ripple into the Biden administration .
“ It takes time to ramp up , ” Wen said .
“ Hiring vaccinators is no small feat and takes time .
Building community trust is not something that happens overnight ”

The COVID-19 vaccine is out, and it could turn into President Trump’s final dirty trick against Joe Biden.
Trump officials have been offering optimistic timeframes on vaccine distribution that both belie the complexity of what will be the greatest mass vaccination campaign in American history and could serve to set unrealistic expectations for the incoming Biden administration.
“Late February, in the March time period, I think you’ll start seeing [it] much more like a flu vaccination campaign,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
That rosy estimate comes as Congress has failed to allocate the billions of dollars in funding that states say is necessary for the distribution effort. It also comes as the Trump administration has planned out the initial phase of the distribution effort at the federal level, but left the subsequent phases — set to start after Biden takes office — to the unfunded states.
“I just don’t see how that would happen,” said Dr. Leana Wen, former Baltimore city health commissioner and a health policy professor at George Washington, of Azar’s estimate. “That’s an extremely optimistic projection that assumes everything is done perfectly, and when resources are so limited, that perfect execution is nearly impossible.”
Because the Trump administration has only planned out in detail how the vaccine will be administered to the first groups of recipients, and because of the timeline broadcast by officials like Azar, a potential public health and PR catastrophe awaits the Biden administration in its first weeks. The lack of planning and funding at the state level could boil over just as the vaccine is supposed to have become widely available, and just after Biden takes office.
“It’s obvious how this will go over,” one state official told NBC, referring to the timing.
It also highlights the pressure placed on local officials to execute the vaccine rollout, and on the Trump administration to cooperate with the incoming Biden team.
“Everyone is hoping for a smooth rollout with these priority groups being vaccinated in order to achieve mass vaccination by the summertime, but if any one part of that rollout misses a goal or is not smoothly implemented, it can complicate the entire implementation in major ways,” said Dr. Howard Koh, an assistant secretary for health under President Obama. “There are many, many ways that could happen, and this is where particularly the administration needs to work with the transition and Congress.”
Unrealistic timeframe
With the Pfizer vaccine being injected en masse and Moderna’s set for emergency FDA approval this week, the inoculation campaign is underway.
The first waves of the vaccine are going out to two groups: frontline medical workers and those who live in or work at nursing homes. Kaiser Family Foundations estimates that 17.6 million people fall into those categories.
Then the pool of those eligible for vaccinations would broaden to all of phase 1 — covering essential workers, those older than 65, and those with preexisting conditions. That, per Kaiser, could encompass over 100 million people.
Azar suggested that everyone in phase 1 will be vaccinated by the end of March.
That’s a very tall order — especially given that the Trump administration appears to have only completed planning for phase 1a, the initial 17.6 million, a category of people set to be vaccinated by around the time that Biden takes office.
The Trump administration has laid out a detailed plan to vaccinate that first category; shots are being shipped out to hospitals around the country to ensure that frontline health-care workers are being vaccinated.
To inoculate nursing home residents, the Trump administration has made an exception to its pandemic-long rule of delegating authority to the states. For this, Health and Human Services is footing the bill via a partnership with Walgreens and CVS, who will send vaccinators into nursing homes.
HHS heralded that policy as “minimiz[ing] the burden on [long-term care] sites and jurisdictional health departments of vaccine handling, administration, and fulfilling reporting requirements.”
But there’s no similar federal role for vaccinating the rest of the country — everyone beyond that initial 17.6 million in the Trump administration’s plan.
Rather, what the government is planning to do after these first 17 million receive their doses is ship the vaccine to the states, leaving it to them to administer. Without plans in place for vaccination or the money needed to execute those plans, the scenario sets up the possibility of conspicuous delays in the distribution effort in the opening weeks of the Biden administration.
Gen. Gustave Perna, Operation Warp Speed’s chief operations officer, has said that his office will serve the needs of the states. “Our responsibility is to enable their plan,” he said at a Dec. 2 press conference.
“It’s the state and local leaders that are going to make this a reality on the ground,” Koh said. He added that “vaccination systems take years to build, be upgraded, and adjusted for any new threat.”
“We need to help them to help us,” he added.
An HHS spokeswoman told TPM that the Trump administration would pay for the vast majority of distribution costs — getting the vaccines to the states — and that a program to deliver the vaccine directly to pharmacies would alleviate the burden on local health departments.
State officials dispute this, and say that they need billions to effectively distribute the shot.
Funding vacuum
In this vacuum of a cohesive federal plan, the responsibility of managing and distributing the vaccine has been thrust onto the weary shoulders of state and municipal health departments and hospitals, beleaguered by months of battling the pandemic with too few resources and too little help.
As TPM reported, many of those officials are only just now turning their attention to the mammoth undertaking of vaccine distribution. Some were unable to yet identify the gaps in funding they’ll need filled to smoothly pull off a mass vaccination campaign. Others, while attempting to jerry-rig a safety net from rainy day funds or alternate revenue streams, have sounded the alarm about the catastrophe that could develop without critical funding from Congress.
Dr. Wen, the former Baltimore health commissioner, said that the final stretch of distribution — once Operation Warp Speed delivers the vaccine to state authorities — is the hardest to execute, and has received the least attention.
“Once the vaccine becomes the responsibility of state governments it becomes extremely complex, because it’s that last mile that is full of many potential roadblocks and where many issues could occur,” Wen said.
Congress is running out of opportunities to act. Currently, lawmakers are working on COVID-19 aid proposals to attach to a spending measure that must be passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown.
At the moment, there are two proposals floating around the Hill, produced by a bipartisan coalition of House and Senate members. One, likely too politically freighted to pass, includes $160 billion for state and local governments. The other, much more likely to see the light of law, includes $6 billion for vaccine distribution.
The $6 billion is in line with the Trump administration’s estimates, but well below the $8.4 billion estimated to be needed by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and Association of Immunization Managers.
An HHS spokesperson told TPM that the CDC is additionally distributing $140 million this week for vaccine planning. Some states, including the hard-hit Wisconsin, have been working on applications to get a slice of that funding.
Meanwhile, what aid Congress was able to pass in the CARES Act last spring is expiring.
The Treasury Department has been doling out aid from a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund to state, local and tribal governments who have needed it as the pandemic wallops their resources and drains their bank accounts. But that money only covers COVID-19-related costs incurred from March 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020. In two weeks, that aid will be gone.
The lack of funding has likely already caused delays in hiring vaccinators and conducting public awareness campaigns for the vaccine rollout that will ripple into the Biden administration.
“It takes time to ramp up,” Wen said. “Hiring vaccinators is no small feat and takes time. Building community trust is not something that happens overnight”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--Biden Will Nominate Buttigieg For Transportation Secretary

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary , according to multiple reports , in a move that will catapult the former mayor from small town roots — after a presidential bid that fell short earlier this year — onto the national scene .
If approved , the ex-South Bend , Indiana mayor , would also be among the first LGBTQ Cabinet secretaries confirmed by the Senate in Biden ’ s increasingly diverse team .
Biden has vowed to invest in transportation and new infrastructure while fulfilling commitments to cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transportation secretary , which has included a number of contenders , is expected to play a key role in Biden ’ s push for a bipartisan package .
The former mayor was considered for several other posts , including U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and commerce secretary after catching Biden ’ s eye during the primaries earlier this year as an emerging star in the Democratic Party .
In February 2020 , Buttigieg won the Iowa Caucuses — nearly tying with Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-VT ) — making him the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential primary or caucus .
After resigning his own campaign , Buttigieg later endorsed Biden and spent much of the general election boosting Biden ’ s bid for president .
Biden praised Buttigieg at a March event in Dallas , comparing him to his late son Beau Biden who died of brain cancer .
“ I know that may not mean much to most people , but to me it ’ s the highest compliment I can give any man or woman , ” Biden said at the time .
Biden is said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ex-Obama White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel , Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Rhode Island Gov .
Gina Raimondo as contenders for the top transportation job .
“ I promise you , you ’ re going to end up , over your lifetime , seeing a hell of a lot more of Pete than you are of me , ” Biden added .

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary, according to multiple reports, in a move that will catapult the former mayor from small town roots — after a presidential bid that fell short earlier this year — onto the national scene.
If approved, the ex-South Bend, Indiana mayor, would also be among the first LGBTQ Cabinet secretaries confirmed by the Senate in Biden’s increasingly diverse team.
Biden has vowed to invest in transportation and new infrastructure while fulfilling commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The role of transportation secretary, which has included a number of contenders, is expected to play a key role in Biden’s push for a bipartisan package.
The former mayor was considered for several other posts, including U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and commerce secretary after catching Biden’s eye during the primaries earlier this year as an emerging star in the Democratic Party.
In February 2020, Buttigieg won the Iowa Caucuses — nearly tying with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — making him the first openly gay person to ever win a presidential primary or caucus. After resigning his own campaign, Buttigieg later endorsed Biden and spent much of the general election boosting Biden’s bid for president.
Biden praised Buttigieg at a March event in Dallas, comparing him to his late son Beau Biden who died of brain cancer.
“I know that may not mean much to most people, but to me it’s the highest compliment I can give any man or woman,” Biden said at the time.
Biden is said to have also considered former Chicago Mayor and ex-Obama White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo as contenders for the top transportation job.
“I promise you, you’re going to end up, over your lifetime, seeing a hell of a lot more of Pete than you are of me,” Biden added.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--Domino Effect: Romney Predicts More GOP Sens Will Publicly Accept Reality After McConnell

Sen. Mitt Romney ( R-UT ) on Tuesday predicted that there will be a domino effect of more Republicans finally publicly acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden ’ s victory after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-KY ) arrived on Planet Earth to congratulate Biden during a floor speech , a day after the Electoral College sealed Biden ’ s victory .
When asked whether Republicans will follow suit in recognizing Biden ’ s victory now that McConnell has done so — which follows the Senate majority leader ’ s monthlong stint of being a quiet foot soldier in President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — Romney told CNN that he predicts “ more and more people indicate ” that Biden is the president-elect .
Romney argued that a “ different ” and “ important question ” is how many Republicans will call out Trump for his “ simply wrong and dangerous ” election fraud falsehoods .
“ The continued attack on our elections system and the calls that suggest that it ’ s been fraudulent or stolen — that these things are not accurate , they ’ re not true , there ’ s been no evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be necessary to overturn an election , ” Romney said , while describing the dangers of egging on Trump ’ s baseless fraud claims .
Romney added that even Attorney General Bill Barr — who Trump announced will resign next week — couldn ’ t find evidence supporting Trump ’ s unsubstantiated claims .
Romney implored “ strong Trump supporters ” to “ come out ” by standing up to the sitting president ’ s bogus claims .
“ Or you ’ re going to continue to have this country divided , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
The senator reiterated that the focus should turn to those who consider themselves “ strong Trump supporters ” to speak out against the sitting president ’ s refusal to concede and vows to continue waging long-shot legal battles to overturn election results .
“ But some of those that are really identified as being strong Trump supporters , they ’ d make a real difference if they came out and spoke and said , ‘ You know what , we got to get behind this new President-elect .
He was legitimately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ’ ” Romney said .
Romney ’ s remarks came a day after some of Trump ’ s staunch allies , which include Sen. Lindsey Graham ( R-SC ) , could no longer deny the reality that Biden will return to the White House .
“ Yeah , ” Graham said when asked on Monday if the Electoral College votes meant that Biden is the President-elect .
Graham , who had vehemently egged on Trump ’ s fruitless legal battles , added that Trump now has a “ very , very narrow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hours after McConnell outright acknowledged Biden as President-elect , the Senate majority leader and his leadership team reportedly urged fellow Republicans on a conference call against participating in any efforts to object to certifying Biden ’ s presidential victory in the Jan. 6 joint session , according to Politico and Axios .
But it could be less about accepting reality and more about saving their own reelection prospects .
Sens .
Roy Blunt ( R-MO ) and John Thune ( R-SD ) reportedly joined McConnell in issuing a stern warning that “ there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objection because the GOP would have to vote it down — a move that could potentially damage incumbents who are up for re-election in 2022 .
“ It would be great if there were no members that took up that issue , ” Thune said , according to Axios .

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) on Tuesday predicted that there will be a domino effect of more Republicans finally publicly acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden’s victory after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrived on Planet Earth to congratulate Biden during a floor speech, a day after the Electoral College sealed Biden’s victory.
When asked whether Republicans will follow suit in recognizing Biden’s victory now that McConnell has done so — which follows the Senate majority leader’s monthlong stint of being a quiet foot soldier in President Trump’s delusional efforts to undermine democracy — Romney told CNN that he predicts “more and more people indicate” that Biden is the president-elect.
Romney argued that a “different” and “important question” is how many Republicans will call out Trump for his “simply wrong and dangerous” election fraud falsehoods.
“The continued attack on our elections system and the calls that suggest that it’s been fraudulent or stolen — that these things are not accurate, they’re not true, there’s been no evidence of substantial fraud of the nature that would be necessary to overturn an election,” Romney said, while describing the dangers of egging on Trump’s baseless fraud claims.
Romney added that even Attorney General Bill Barr — who Trump announced will resign next week — couldn’t find evidence supporting Trump’s unsubstantiated claims.
Romney implored “strong Trump supporters” to “come out” by standing up to the sitting president’s bogus claims.
“Or you’re going to continue to have this country divided, which is pretty dangerous,” Romney said.
The senator reiterated that the focus should turn to those who consider themselves “strong Trump supporters” to speak out against the sitting president’s refusal to concede and vows to continue waging long-shot legal battles to overturn election results.
“But some of those that are really identified as being strong Trump supporters, they’d make a real difference if they came out and spoke and said, ‘You know what, we got to get behind this new President-elect. He was legitimately elected. Let’s move on,’” Romney said.
Romney’s remarks came a day after some of Trump’s staunch allies, which include Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), could no longer deny the reality that Biden will return to the White House.
“Yeah,” Graham said when asked on Monday if the Electoral College votes meant that Biden is the President-elect.
Graham, who had vehemently egged on Trump’s fruitless legal battles, added that Trump now has a “very, very narrow path” for a second term.
Hours after McConnell outright acknowledged Biden as President-elect, the Senate majority leader and his leadership team reportedly urged fellow Republicans on a conference call against participating in any efforts to object to certifying Biden’s presidential victory in the Jan. 6 joint session, according to Politico and Axios.
But it could be less about accepting reality and more about saving their own reelection prospects.
Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and John Thune (R-SD) reportedly joined McConnell in issuing a stern warning that “there’s zero sentiment” for an objection because the GOP would have to vote it down — a move that could potentially damage incumbents who are up for re-election in 2022.
“It would be great if there were no members that took up that issue,” Thune said, according to Axios.
Watch Romney’s remarks below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--Report: Pompeo To Meet With Biden SOS After ‘Second Trump Admin’ Fantasy Falls Flat

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is slated to meet Antony Blinken , President-elect Joe Biden ’ s nominee to be @ @ @ @ @ for the first time on Thursday , according to CNN .
CNN reported that the @ @ @ @ @ after the Electoral College cemented Biden ’ s victory , will only be about 15 @ @ @ @ @ for the State Department disputed CNN ’ s report , telling TPM that there is @ @ @ @ @ confirmed.
” A meeting between the two would mark the end of Pompeo ’ s @ @ @ @ @ election results , which was underscored by his remarks shortly after the election when he @ @ @ @ @ a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.
” However , the Trump official stepped @ @ @ @ @ near the end of November after General Services Administration ( GSA ) chief Emily Murphy @ @ @ @ @ the transition process .
Pompeo said that the transition was a “ legal requirement ” @ @ @ @ @ always honor that promise .
”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is slated to meet Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be Pompeo’s successor, for the first time on Thursday, according to CNN.
CNN reported that the meeting, held two days after the Electoral College cemented Biden’s victory, will only be about 15 minutes long.
A spokesperson for the State Department disputed CNN’s report, telling TPM that there is “no meeting planned or confirmed.”
A meeting between the two would mark the end of Pompeo’s Trump-esque refusal to recognize the election results, which was underscored by his remarks shortly after the election when he said “there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”
However, the Trump official stepped back from the incendiary comment near the end of November after General Services Administration (GSA) chief Emily Murphy finally allowed Biden to begin the transition process.
Pompeo said that the transition was a “legal requirement” and “we’ll always honor that promise.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--Besides Oath Of Office, Nearly All Of Biden Inauguration Will Be Different Due To COVID

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in to office on the steps of the Capitol next month , Biden ’ s planning committee confirmed on Tuesday .
The Presidential Inaugural Committee said in a statement Tuesday that Biden and Harris would be sworn in at the west side of the Capitol on Jan. 20 , in a “ historic ceremony that includes vigorous health and safety protocols , ” in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus which continues to surge around the country .
The President-elect will give an inaugural address laying out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unite the nation , the committee said in a statement announcing that the ceremony ’ s footprint would be “ extremely limited , and the parade that follows will be reimagined.
” While a small group will gather , the event will largely be conducted virtually , featuring people from across the country , in similar fashion to the roll call at the Democratic National Convention in August , the committee said .
It is unclear whether a traditional luncheon with members of Congress will be held after the swearing in .
Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans to stay at home , refrain from travel and to limit gatherings during the inauguration .
David Kessler , a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner who has been advising Biden on the coronavirus and who was named the inauguration ’ s chief medical adviser and is urging Americans to participate in the festivities from home , wear masks , and limit gatherings .
The group producing the events have helped put together the Democratic convention , and includes a team involved in coordinating the Super Bowl halftime shows and Tony Awards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ importance of creating an event that both honors tradition and can set the tone for the incoming administration .
President Trump has not yet said whether or not he will attend the inauguration .
“ I don ’ t want to talk about that , ” he told Fox News in an interview Sunday when hosts broached the question of his attendance .
Historically a tea takes place at the White House before the incoming and outgoing presidents ride together to the Capitol .
Maju Varghese , the executive director of the inauguration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the planning team was continuing to work through logistics and would adapt to either scenario , but emphasized the importance of building a scene that celebrated the new administration .
“ What the American public wants to see that afternoon is the country coming around to mark the beginning of a new presidency — and we ’ re going to work to do that , ” he said .

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in to office on the steps of the Capitol next month, Biden’s planning committee confirmed on Tuesday.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee said in a statement Tuesday that Biden and Harris would be sworn in at the west side of the Capitol on Jan. 20, in a “historic ceremony that includes vigorous health and safety protocols,” in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus which continues to surge around the country.
The President-elect will give an inaugural address laying out his vision to beat the virus and unite the nation, the committee said in a statement announcing that the ceremony’s footprint would be “extremely limited, and the parade that follows will be reimagined.”
While a small group will gather, the event will largely be conducted virtually, featuring people from across the country, in similar fashion to the roll call at the Democratic National Convention in August, the committee said.
It is unclear whether a traditional luncheon with members of Congress will be held after the swearing in.
Biden’s transition team is urging all Americans to stay at home, refrain from travel and to limit gatherings during the inauguration.
David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner who has been advising Biden on the coronavirus and who was named the inauguration’s chief medical adviser and is urging Americans to participate in the festivities from home, wear masks, and limit gatherings.
The group producing the events have helped put together the Democratic convention, and includes a team involved in coordinating the Super Bowl halftime shows and Tony Awards ceremonies.
The team has pressed the importance of creating an event that both honors tradition and can set the tone for the incoming administration.
President Trump has not yet said whether or not he will attend the inauguration.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” he told Fox News in an interview Sunday when hosts broached the question of his attendance.
Historically a tea takes place at the White House before the incoming and outgoing presidents ride together to the Capitol.
Maju Varghese, the executive director of the inauguration told the Washington Post in an interview that the planning team was continuing to work through logistics and would adapt to either scenario, but emphasized the importance of building a scene that celebrated the new administration.
“What the American public wants to see that afternoon is the country coming around to mark the beginning of a new presidency — and we’re going to work to do that,” he said.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--VA State Senator, GOP Guv Contender Calls For Martial Law Over Biden Victory

A Republican state senator and candidate for governor in Virginia called for martial law in response to President-elect Joe Biden ’ s victory .
Amanda Chase , who ’ s embraced the description “ Trump in heels , ” said in a Facebook post Tuesday morning that she would “ never ” consider Biden her president .
“ President Trump should declare martial law as recommended by General Flynn , ” she wrote , referring to the former national security adviser and presidential pardon recipient .
Flynn recently shared a press release on Twitter that called on Trump to declare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold a national re-vote — in order to avoid “ the threat of a shooting civil war , ” in the press release ’ s words .
Chase told The Washington Post Tuesday that she was hopeful the electoral college results would be overturned when electors ’ votes are formally counted on Jan. 6 .
“ Martial law comes in if none of these options work , ” she said .
“ General Flynn is the one who first talked about it in his interview right after he was pardoned .
… He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go and seize these machines and voting equipment to find the voter fraud .
There needs to be a national audit.
” Chase is one of two declared candidates for the Republican Party ’ s nomination to become governor of Virginia .
Rather than selecting a nominee via a primary vote , party leadership announced earlier this month that it would hold a nominating convention in June — partly out of fear , the Post reported , that Chase could win in a primary vote .
Chase initially said she would run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s choice to use a nominating convention , but backed off of those plans just a few days later .
At least one Virginia Republican spoke out against the most recent call for martial law .
Rep. Denver Riggleman ( R-VA ) , who lost his own primary bid for reelection this year , referred to Ronald Reagan ’ s “ A Time For Choosing ” speech in commenting on Chase ’ s Facebook post .
“ Do you support facts and liberty ?
Or supporting martial law based on unhinged conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Flynn ?
” Riggleman wrote .
“ Virginia Gov candidate , Amanda Chase wrote this on Facebook .
Conspiracy theories like QAnon or FACTS ?
”

A Republican state senator and candidate for governor in Virginia called for martial law in response to President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Amanda Chase, who’s embraced the description “Trump in heels,” said in a Facebook post Tuesday morning that she would “never” consider Biden her president.
“President Trump should declare martial law as recommended by General Flynn,” she wrote, referring to the former national security adviser and presidential pardon recipient.
Not my President and never will be. The American people aren’t fools.
We know you cheated to win and we’ll never… Posted by Senator Amanda Chase on Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Flynn recently shared a press release on Twitter that called on Trump to declare martial law and order the military to hold a national re-vote — in order to avoid “the threat of a shooting civil war,” in the press release’s words.
Chase told The Washington Post Tuesday that she was hopeful the electoral college results would be overturned when electors’ votes are formally counted on Jan. 6.
“Martial law comes in if none of these options work,” she said. “General Flynn is the one who first talked about it in his interview right after he was pardoned. … He recommended that President Trump implement martial law to go and seize these machines and voting equipment to find the voter fraud. There needs to be a national audit.”
Chase is one of two declared candidates for the Republican Party’s nomination to become governor of Virginia. Rather than selecting a nominee via a primary vote, party leadership announced earlier this month that it would hold a nominating convention in June — partly out of fear, the Post reported, that Chase could win in a primary vote.
Chase initially said she would run an independent campaign to protest the party’s choice to use a nominating convention, but backed off of those plans just a few days later.
At least one Virginia Republican spoke out against the most recent call for martial law.
Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA), who lost his own primary bid for reelection this year, referred to Ronald Reagan’s “A Time For Choosing” speech in commenting on Chase’s Facebook post.
“Do you support facts and liberty? Or supporting martial law based on unhinged conspiracy ramblings — from Sydney Powell and Mike Flynn?” Riggleman wrote. “Virginia Gov candidate, Amanda Chase wrote this on Facebook. Conspiracy theories like QAnon or FACTS?”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--Grim Reaper Joins The Living

Grim Reaper Joins The Living

Senate Majority Leader Mitch “ Grim Reaper ” McConnell on Tuesday arrived on Planet Earth to congratulate Joe Biden as the President-elect during a floor speech on Tuesday , giving up his monthlong stint of being a quiet foot soldier in President Trump ’ s delusional efforts to undermine democracy .
The acknowledgement came a day after the Electoral College sealed Biden ’ s victory .
But , of course , before getting around to outright referring to Biden as President-elect , McConnell seemed to try to soften the blow to President Trump by spending most of his long speech @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s supposed accomplishments .
“ The Electoral College has spoken , ” McConnell said .
“ So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.
” McConnell factually acknowledged that , indeed , “ the President-Elect is no stranger to the Senate.
” “ He ’ s devoted himself to public service for many years , ” McConnell said .
McConnell also extended his congratulations to “ our colleague from California ” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris .
McConnell , who ’ s shown hostility toward reproductive rights , suddenly championed Harris ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serve as VP as something that “ all Americans can take pride ” in .
McConnell said that he looks forward to finishing out the waning weeks of Trump ’ s presidency “ strong ” with the sitting president , who still vows to keep his legal battles that have failed to gain steam ongoing .
McConnell , who calls himself the Grim Reaper because he views himself as holding the scythe that kills off the desires of Speaker Nancy Pelosi ’ s ( D-CA ) House majority — concluded his remarks by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ champions “ another bipartisan chapter to this record of achievement.
” McConnell ’ s acceptance of reality comes after he has egged on Trump ’ s long-shot legal battles contesting the legitimacy of Biden ’ s legitimate win .
Amid the President ’ s bogus claims about “ illegal ” votes and his slew of lawsuits aimed at bolstering those accusations , McConnell backed Trump ’ s weaponization of the courts during a speech on the Senate floor days after Biden ’ s win was projected by major news outlets .
Trump has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to request recounts under the law , ” McConnell argued .
McConnell trudged on as he continued riding on Trump ’ s delusional high horse as he avoided speaking to the President-elect following Biden ’ s projected victory .

Senate Majority Leader Mitch “Grim Reaper” McConnell on Tuesday arrived on Planet Earth to congratulate Joe Biden as the President-elect during a floor speech on Tuesday, giving up his monthlong stint of being a quiet foot soldier in President Trump’s delusional efforts to undermine democracy.
The acknowledgement came a day after the Electoral College sealed Biden’s victory.
But, of course, before getting around to outright referring to Biden as President-elect, McConnell seemed to try to soften the blow to President Trump by spending most of his long speech on the Senate floor talking up Trump’s supposed accomplishments.
McConnell recognized Biden’s return to the White House at the tail-end of his Senate floor speech by nodding to the Electoral College’s affirmation of the President-elect’s victory the day before.
“The Electoral College has spoken,” McConnell said. “So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”
McConnell factually acknowledged that, indeed, “the President-Elect is no stranger to the Senate.”
“He’s devoted himself to public service for many years,” McConnell said.
McConnell also extended his congratulations to “our colleague from California” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. McConnell, who’s shown hostility toward reproductive rights, suddenly championed Harris’ historical appointment as the first woman to serve as VP as something that “all Americans can take pride” in.
McConnell said that he looks forward to finishing out the waning weeks of Trump’s presidency “strong” with the sitting president, who still vows to keep his legal battles that have failed to gain steam ongoing.
McConnell, who calls himself the Grim Reaper because he views himself as holding the scythe that kills off the desires of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) House majority — concluded his remarks by advertising himself as a government official who champions “another bipartisan chapter to this record of achievement.”
McConnell’s acceptance of reality comes after he has egged on Trump’s long-shot legal battles contesting the legitimacy of Biden’s legitimate win.
Amid the President’s bogus claims about “illegal” votes and his slew of lawsuits aimed at bolstering those accusations, McConnell backed Trump’s weaponization of the courts during a speech on the Senate floor days after Biden’s win was projected by major news outlets.
Trump has “every right to look into allegations and to request recounts under the law,” McConnell argued.
McConnell trudged on as he continued riding on Trump’s delusional high horse as he avoided speaking to the President-elect following Biden’s projected victory.
Watch McConnell’s remarks below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-15--Lock Them Up: Trump Retweets Call For Kemp And GA Sec Of State To Be Thrown In Jail

President Donald Trump took his attacks against Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp ( R ) and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to a new level on Tuesday .
Harkening back to his “ lock her up !
” days , Trump retweeted a post by Lin Wood , one of the lawyers who helped lead several fruitless lawsuits seeking to overturn the election and is prone to spreading conspiracy theories , calling for the two Georgia officials to be jailed .
“ President Trump @ realDonaldTrump is a genuinely good man .
He does not really like to fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in jail , especially ‘ Republicans , ' ” Wood tweeted .
“ He gave @ BrianKempGA & @ GaSecofState every chance to get it right .
They refused .
They will soon be going to jail.
” The tweet included an edited image of Kemp and Raffensperger wearing masks bearing the Chinese flag .
Kemp and Raffensperger ’ s offices did not immediately respond to request for comment , nor did the White House .
Trump has been relentlessly dragging the two men , who are both Republicans , through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undo President-elect Joe Biden ’ s win in the Peach State .
He has called Kemp a “ terrible ” governor who ’ s “ worse than a Democrat ” and referred to Raffensperger as a “ RINO ( Republican In Name Only ) .
” The President ’ s attacks have sparked threats against the officials , which he has refused to condemn .

President Donald Trump took his attacks against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to a new level on Tuesday.
Harkening back to his “lock her up!” days, Trump retweeted a post by Lin Wood, one of the lawyers who helped lead several fruitless lawsuits seeking to overturn the election and is prone to spreading conspiracy theories, calling for the two Georgia officials to be jailed.
“President Trump @realDonaldTrump is a genuinely good man. He does not really like to fire people. I bet he dislikes putting people in jail, especially ‘Republicans,'” Wood tweeted. “He gave @BrianKempGA & @GaSecofState every chance to get it right. They refused. They will soon be going to jail.”
The tweet included an edited image of Kemp and Raffensperger wearing masks bearing the Chinese flag.
Trump retweeted the post without comment.
Kemp and Raffensperger’s offices did not immediately respond to request for comment, nor did the White House.
Trump has been relentlessly dragging the two men, who are both Republicans, through the mud as he furiously works to somehow undo President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the Peach State. He has called Kemp a “terrible” governor who’s “worse than a Democrat” and referred to Raffensperger as a “RINO (Republican In Name Only).”
The President’s attacks have sparked threats against the officials, which he has refused to condemn.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-16--Hundreds Of Invitees Skip Mike Pompeo’s Superspreader Holiday Party

Just a few of the more than 900 invitees to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ’ s indoor holiday party showed up on Tuesday following a flood criticism that the event could become a superspreader for coronavirus , the Washington Post reported late Tuesday .
Public health officials and lawmakers had been warning for weeks that the indoor event , with a long list of invitees and a reception where eating and drink would encourage the removal of face masks , was an invitation to another less welcome guest — coronavirus infection .
About 70 people RSVP ’ d for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of diplomats serving overseas in dangerous postings as of Monday night and just a fraction of that group showed up , the Post said .
Pompeo , who was scheduled to speak at the event , canceled his speech and tapped a substitute , two officials told the Post .
It was unclear if Pompeo had cancelled his remarks due to his own health concerns or for another reason , but the event was just one of the parties Pompeo has been planning for the holiday season according to an earlier report .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the gathering , saying masks would be required for attendance and it would enforce social distancing guidelines , photos documenting the festivities showed attendees removing masks to eat boxed meals and sip drinks .
A masked Santa also mingled at tables engaging with guests , officials told the Post .
The gathering defied guidance from health officials from within the Trump administration who have been discouraging Americans from travel and from hosting large indoor gatherings as the United States continues to combat coronavirus which has killed more than 300,000 people in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sen. Bob Menendez ( D-NJ ) had urged Pompeo to cancel the party and other in-person gatherings amid health risks to attendees and those working at the event , noting its hypocrisy in a letter to the Secretary of State .
The American Foreign Service Association also issued a statement in recent weeks calling on the department to “ reverse course and model responsible behavior in accordance with its own guidelines.
” The nonpartisan union which represents diplomats , referred to recommendations from the agency ’ s own leaders that told embassies to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year amid the ongoing public health crisis .

Just a few of the more than 900 invitees to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s indoor holiday party showed up on Tuesday following a flood criticism that the event could become a superspreader for coronavirus, the Washington Post reported late Tuesday.
Public health officials and lawmakers had been warning for weeks that the indoor event, with a long list of invitees and a reception where eating and drink would encourage the removal of face masks, was an invitation to another less welcome guest — coronavirus infection.
About 70 people RSVP’d for the event dedicated to the family members of diplomats serving overseas in dangerous postings as of Monday night and just a fraction of that group showed up, the Post said.
Pompeo, who was scheduled to speak at the event, canceled his speech and tapped a substitute, two officials told the Post.
It was unclear if Pompeo had cancelled his remarks due to his own health concerns or for another reason, but the event was just one of the parties Pompeo has been planning for the holiday season according to an earlier report.
While the State Department had rebuffed criticism of the gathering, saying masks would be required for attendance and it would enforce social distancing guidelines, photos documenting the festivities showed attendees removing masks to eat boxed meals and sip drinks. A masked Santa also mingled at tables engaging with guests, officials told the Post.
The gathering defied guidance from health officials from within the Trump administration who have been discouraging Americans from travel and from hosting large indoor gatherings as the United States continues to combat coronavirus which has killed more than 300,000 people in the United States.
Earlier this month, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) had urged Pompeo to cancel the party and other in-person gatherings amid health risks to attendees and those working at the event, noting its hypocrisy in a letter to the Secretary of State.
The American Foreign Service Association also issued a statement in recent weeks calling on the department to “reverse course and model responsible behavior in accordance with its own guidelines.”
The nonpartisan union which represents diplomats, referred to recommendations from the agency’s own leaders that told embassies to hold only virtual gatherings to close the year amid the ongoing public health crisis.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-16--Trump Tells McConnell It’s ‘Too Soon To Give Up’ After GOP Leader Finally Recognizes Biden’s Win

President Donald Trump swiped at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-KY ) early Wednesday morning after the senator finally @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden is the president-elect .
“ Mitch , 75,000,000 VOTES , a record for @ @ @ @ @ a lot ) , ” Trump wrote in his retweet .
“ Too soon to @ @ @ @ @ must finally learn to fight .
People are angry !
” After the Electoral College @ @ @ @ @ , McConnell finally admitted during a floor speech on Tuesday that the Democrat had won @ @ @ @ @ as Trump attempted to steal the election .
“ The Electoral College has spoken , @ @ @ @ @ .
“ So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.
” Despite the results @ @ @ @ @ the Electoral College , Trump has continued to peddle lies about the race and demand @ @ @ @ @ him overturn the election somehow .
Additionally , the President has utterly failed to prove @ @ @ @ @ stole ” the election from him .

President Donald Trump swiped at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) early Wednesday morning after the senator finally accepted the indisputable fact that Joe Biden is the president-elect.
Trump retweeted a Daily Mail article headlined “Trump’s allies slam Mitch McConnell for congratulating Biden.”
“Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot),” Trump wrote in his retweet. “Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!”
(The President has about 74.2 million votes, not 75 million.)
After the Electoral College cemented Biden’s victory, McConnell finally admitted during a floor speech on Tuesday that the Democrat had won after weeks of holding out as Trump attempted to steal the election.
“The Electoral College has spoken,” said the GOP leader. “So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”
Despite the results of both the election and the Electoral College, Trump has continued to peddle lies about the race and demand that his fellow Republicans help him overturn the election somehow. Additionally, the President has utterly failed to prove that mass voter fraud “stole” the election from him.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-16--The Census ‘Time Bomb’ Awaiting Joe Biden

When Utah lawmakers had the chance to kick the tires on a new privacy program the Census Bureau is planning for the 2020 data , what they found was troubling .
A test in February on a version of the program that was run on 2010 census numbers produced a major distortion of what cities and towns in rural Utah look like .
The populations in the tiny towns of Tabiona and Alton were shrunk to less than half their actual sizes .
Twenty cities overall saw 20 percent or more of their inhabitants wiped away , and the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15,000 .
The smallest town in Utah , the former mining town of Scofield , saw its inhabitants double from 24 to 52 .
The Census Bureau has since made some tweaks to the system that have mitigated some of these sledge-hammer effects .
Yet an intense but under the radar debate over the program — known as differential privacy — has continued to roil the larger census community .
The chaos that the Trump administration brought to other aspects of the decennial survey has overshadowed the controversy around the Bureau ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject the 2020 data to the privacy tool .
As the release of the data gets closer , the Bureau ’ s failure so far to prove that it can be implemented without a severe cost to the data ’ s accuracy is causing major anxiety across a broad coalition of census data users .
The decision to use the tool is not related to President Trump ’ s hijacking of the survey for political purposes .
In fact , it ’ s been championed internally by the career census expert who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public critic of the Trump administration ’ s attempt to add a census citizenship question .
But the privacy system has come under fire from census data users of varying stripes who say that they fear , in the name of privacy , the tool will distort the data to the point that the numbers will be unusable for myriad purposes .
In their worst case scenarios , the populations of small towns will appear much larger or smaller than what they actually are .
A native Alaskan village will look like it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , instead of majority indigenous .
A local government ’ s ability to administer a Meals on Wheels program , or keep track of how a disease is spreading through its elderly population , will be made much more difficult by the way that age data is skewed when the privacy system is used .
As these fears take hold , skeptics of the program are currently plotting more aggressive pushback .
They are making their concerns known to the incoming Joe Biden team , in the hopes that his Commerce Department will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handling the program ’ s rollout .
There have been discussions about seeking congressional intervention .
And they are also floating the possibility of lawsuits if the bureau is unable to fix the issues that they have identified .
The critics are keenly aware of the unprecedented difficulties the Census Bureau has faced with the 2020 census , between the Trump administration ’ s attempts to hijack the survey for partisan ends , to the pandemic , wildfires and other natural disasters that complicated the count itself .
But it ’ s because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accuracy — and the significant work by stakeholders to help the Bureau overcome them — that the critics say the risks of differential privacy are just too great to take on right now .
“ The fact that we have spent billions of taxpayer dollars to collect good data , taken millions of hours — of community hours , of local government hours , state hours — to come up with a good count , and then the Census Bureau is going to screw it all up ?
Frankly , that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s state demographer Elizabeth Garner .
For this story , TPM spoke to more than a dozen experts who rely on the census data , including state demographers , redistricting consultants , voting rights attorneys and private researchers .
Some asked to speak anonymously , for fear of jeopardizing their working relationships with the bureau .
Almost everyone acknowledged that the bureau was pursuing differential privacy with good intentions — the bureau is under legal obligations to protect the confidentiality of its census respondents — but all agreed that there were serious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to implement the program .
The Census Bureau did not respond to TPM ’ s request for comment .
“ We don ’ t know what it is going to screw up , but no one is watching the cooks here , ” one census expert outside the bureau , who asked not to be named , told TPM .
“ This is a time bomb waiting to go off.
” For decades , the Census Bureau has used different tactics so that identifying information about the individuals who take the survey isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the data .
But according to the Bureau , advances in big data technology have required the bureau to go to new lengths for the 2020 census to stay in compliance with its confidentiality obligations .
Differential privacy , the approach the Bureau is planning on taking , injects “ noise ” into the data — in effect , making the data less accurate — to make it more difficult for outsiders to match the characteristics the data capture to specific individuals .
But how much noise is really necessary is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of census data users say their perspectives have not been represented among those the Bureau tasked with spearheading differential privacy ’ s implementation .
“ The team that ’ s responsible for implementing differential privacy is really a team of computer scientists , said Ethan Sharygin , the Director of the Population Research Center at Portland State University .
“ They don ’ t have a strong voice on the team to say the results that are produced are usable or not usable.
” The critics say the bureau , which only publicly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differential privacy in 2018 , did not give itself enough time to work out the kinks .
And the difficulties the bureau continues to face are evident in the demonstrations they have released to preview how the algorithm will work .
“ Where we are right now with them should have been two years ago , ” Garner said .
If the Bureau can not get the balance between privacy and accuracy just right , the consequences could be devastating for the larger community of census users .
State demographers are fretting about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re told that projecting life expectancy is not doable using 2020 census data .
Civil rights advocates fear that Voting Rights Act enforcement will be hobbled when racial dynamics in communities are made fuzzier .
Some experts wonder if the confusion will create a cottage industry of consultants that governments will have to pay to help them clean up the numbers , and others speculate that the shortcomings will fuel arguments for privatizing the census .
The smaller the subset of data , the more problematic the distortions are , experts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ districts are under 10,000 total population , and those are the places that get the most distorted data , ” said Bill O ’ Hare , a demographer who advises the census advocacy group Count All Kids .
As part of analysis of a demonstration product the Census Bureau released in May 2020 , he looked at the amount of error that differential privacy injected into the 2010 census count of 0-4 years olds .
He found that on average , for schools districts of that size or smaller , those numbers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concern is how characteristics like age , race and ethnicity are skewed .
That lack of precision has implications for the effectiveness of public programs : how do governments know how to expend the resources to a community that needs them if they can not know for sure what the makeup of the community is or where those people are ?
The effect that differential privacy has on the 2010 census — the demonstrations the Bureau has released allows users to compare the data as released in 2010 to with how it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being scrutinized by voting rights attorneys and map drawers to study its effect on Voting Rights Act enforcement .
What they have found so far is that the system makes it harder to identify majority-minority districts as they exist on the ground .
For African American communities in particular , differential privacy will also make more difficult to suss out the district political preferences those voters have .
“ The biggest impacts are likely to come in analyses of racially polarized voters , ” Justin Levitt , an election law professor at Loyola @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bureau is running out of time to overcome these obstacles , and the backlash if the bureau doesn ’ t will be a mess that the Biden administration will have to clean up .
The partisan directives President Trump and his appointees imposed on the census — like the Trump policy to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment count or his order for the collection of citizenship data that states could use to cut non-citizens out of redistricting — will likely be quickly reversed .
What Biden can do on differential privacy is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re at a stage where you ’ re on the runway and the engines are gearing up and you ’ re suddenly finding information that tells you : is the engine really good ?
” said Kim Brace , a redistricting guru .
“ How can you end up raising some of these issues when the plane ’ s about ready to take off ?
” Nevertheless , public lobbying of the Biden transition has been coupled with private outreach to the beachhead team , which includes two well-regarded census experts who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There ’ s discussions of amping up the pressure on Congress to engage as well .
Beyond oversight of the program ’ s implementation , Congress could also pass tweaks to census privacy laws to clarify that the Bureau need not go so overboard on protecting confidentiality that it sacrifices the data ’ s usefulness .
But there is skepticism that such a legislative fix could be done in time .
Without legislation , legal questions about those privacy obligations could quickly come into focus in court instead , if civil rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Bureau has implemented the program and sue over its use .
“ These are legal problems , ” Thomas Saenz , the president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund , told TPM .
“ Because if you have a clash between Voting Rights Act compliance and what the Census Bureau would describe as compliance with Title 13 and confidentiality provisions , it is that kind of statutory conflict that ends up having to go to court to be resolved .
”

When Utah lawmakers had the chance to kick the tires on a new privacy program the Census Bureau is planning for the 2020 data, what they found was troubling.
A test in February on a version of the program that was run on 2010 census numbers produced a major distortion of what cities and towns in rural Utah look like. The populations in the tiny towns of Tabiona and Alton were shrunk to less than half their actual sizes. Twenty cities overall saw 20 percent or more of their inhabitants wiped away, and the state incurred a net population loss of nearly 15,000. The smallest town in Utah, the former mining town of Scofield, saw its inhabitants double from 24 to 52.
The Census Bureau has since made some tweaks to the system that have mitigated some of these sledge-hammer effects. Yet an intense but under the radar debate over the program — known as differential privacy — has continued to roil the larger census community. The chaos that the Trump administration brought to other aspects of the decennial survey has overshadowed the controversy around the Bureau’s decision — led by career experts— to subject the 2020 data to the privacy tool. As the release of the data gets closer, the Bureau’s failure so far to prove that it can be implemented without a severe cost to the data’s accuracy is causing major anxiety across a broad coalition of census data users.
The decision to use the tool is not related to President Trump’s hijacking of the survey for political purposes. In fact, it’s been championed internally by the career census expert who was also the Bureau‘s most vocal public critic of the Trump administration’s attempt to add a census citizenship question.
But the privacy system has come under fire from census data users of varying stripes who say that they fear, in the name of privacy, the tool will distort the data to the point that the numbers will be unusable for myriad purposes. In their worst case scenarios, the populations of small towns will appear much larger or smaller than what they actually are. A native Alaskan village will look like it’s up to 50 percent white, instead of majority indigenous. A local government’s ability to administer a Meals on Wheels program, or keep track of how a disease is spreading through its elderly population, will be made much more difficult by the way that age data is skewed when the privacy system is used.
As these fears take hold, skeptics of the program are currently plotting more aggressive pushback. They are making their concerns known to the incoming Joe Biden team, in the hopes that his Commerce Department will intervene in how the bureau has been handling the program’s rollout. There have been discussions about seeking congressional intervention. And they are also floating the possibility of lawsuits if the bureau is unable to fix the issues that they have identified.
The critics are keenly aware of the unprecedented difficulties the Census Bureau has faced with the 2020 census, between the Trump administration’s attempts to hijack the survey for partisan ends, to the pandemic, wildfires and other natural disasters that complicated the count itself.
But it’s because of the other threats to the census accuracy — and the significant work by stakeholders to help the Bureau overcome them — that the critics say the risks of differential privacy are just too great to take on right now.
“The fact that we have spent billions of taxpayer dollars to collect good data, taken millions of hours — of community hours, of local government hours, state hours — to come up with a good count, and then the Census Bureau is going to screw it all up? Frankly, that’s just not fair,” said Colorado’s state demographer Elizabeth Garner.
For this story, TPM spoke to more than a dozen experts who rely on the census data, including state demographers, redistricting consultants, voting rights attorneys and private researchers.
Some asked to speak anonymously, for fear of jeopardizing their working relationships with the bureau. Almost everyone acknowledged that the bureau was pursuing differential privacy with good intentions — the bureau is under legal obligations to protect the confidentiality of its census respondents — but all agreed that there were serious flaws in how the bureau has tried to implement the program. The Census Bureau did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.
“We don’t know what it is going to screw up, but no one is watching the cooks here,” one census expert outside the bureau, who asked not to be named, told TPM. “This is a time bomb waiting to go off.”
Injecting ‘Noise’
For decades, the Census Bureau has used different tactics so that identifying information about the individuals who take the survey isn’t inadvertently disclosed with the release of the data. But according to the Bureau, advances in big data technology have required the bureau to go to new lengths for the 2020 census to stay in compliance with its confidentiality obligations. Differential privacy, the approach the Bureau is planning on taking, injects “noise” into the data — in effect, making the data less accurate — to make it more difficult for outsiders to match the characteristics the data capture to specific individuals.
But how much noise is really necessary is a touchy topic, and the outside community of census data users say their perspectives have not been represented among those the Bureau tasked with spearheading differential privacy’s implementation.
“The team that’s responsible for implementing differential privacy is really a team of computer scientists, said Ethan Sharygin, the Director of the Population Research Center at Portland State University. “They don’t have a strong voice on the team to say the results that are produced are usable or not usable.”
The critics say the bureau, which only publicly unveiled the work it was doing on differential privacy in 2018, did not give itself enough time to work out the kinks. And the difficulties the bureau continues to face are evident in the demonstrations they have released to preview how the algorithm will work.
“Where we are right now with them should have been two years ago,” Garner said.
The Problems Identified
If the Bureau cannot get the balance between privacy and accuracy just right, the consequences could be devastating for the larger community of census users.
State demographers are fretting about how public policy makers will react when they’re told that projecting life expectancy is not doable using 2020 census data. Civil rights advocates fear that Voting Rights Act enforcement will be hobbled when racial dynamics in communities are made fuzzier. Some experts wonder if the confusion will create a cottage industry of consultants that governments will have to pay to help them clean up the numbers, and others speculate that the shortcomings will fuel arguments for privatizing the census.
The smaller the subset of data, the more problematic the distortions are, experts say.
“Half of the school districts are under 10,000 total population, and those are the places that get the most distorted data,” said Bill O’Hare, a demographer who advises the census advocacy group Count All Kids. As part of analysis of a demonstration product the Census Bureau released in May 2020, he looked at the amount of error that differential privacy injected into the 2010 census count of 0-4 years olds. He found that on average, for schools districts of that size or smaller, those numbers were off by 24 percent.
Of particular concern is how characteristics like age, race and ethnicity are skewed. That lack of precision has implications for the effectiveness of public programs: how do governments know how to expend the resources to a community that needs them if they cannot know for sure what the makeup of the community is or where those people are?
The effect that differential privacy has on the 2010 census — the demonstrations the Bureau has released allows users to compare the data as released in 2010 to with how it would look with differential privacy — is also being scrutinized by voting rights attorneys and map drawers to study its effect on Voting Rights Act enforcement.
What they have found so far is that the system makes it harder to identify majority-minority districts as they exist on the ground. For African American communities in particular, differential privacy will also make more difficult to suss out the district political preferences those voters have.
“The biggest impacts are likely to come in analyses of racially polarized voters,” Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Marymount, told TPM.
A Mess For The Biden Administration
The Census Bureau is running out of time to overcome these obstacles, and the backlash if the bureau doesn’t will be a mess that the Biden administration will have to clean up.
The partisan directives President Trump and his appointees imposed on the census — like the Trump policy to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment count or his order for the collection of citizenship data that states could use to cut non-citizens out of redistricting — will likely be quickly reversed. What Biden can do on differential privacy is a more difficult question.
“You’re at a stage where you’re on the runway and the engines are gearing up and you’re suddenly finding information that tells you: is the engine really good?” said Kim Brace, a redistricting guru. “How can you end up raising some of these issues when the plane’s about ready to take off?”
Nevertheless, public lobbying of the Biden transition has been coupled with private outreach to the beachhead team, which includes two well-regarded census experts who are said to be in information-gathering mode.
There’s discussions of amping up the pressure on Congress to engage as well. Beyond oversight of the program’s implementation, Congress could also pass tweaks to census privacy laws to clarify that the Bureau need not go so overboard on protecting confidentiality that it sacrifices the data’s usefulness. But there is skepticism that such a legislative fix could be done in time.
Without legislation, legal questions about those privacy obligations could quickly come into focus in court instead, if civil rights groups aren’t satisfied with how the Bureau has implemented the program and sue over its use.
“These are legal problems,” Thomas Saenz, the president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told TPM. “Because if you have a clash between Voting Rights Act compliance and what the Census Bureau would describe as compliance with Title 13 and confidentiality provisions, it is that kind of statutory conflict that ends up having to go to court to be resolved.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-16--Birx Says Rapport With Trump Is ‘Very Clear In Private’ Despite Lack Of Public Push Back

Dr. Deborah Birx , White House coronavirus response coordinator , on Wednesday defended her lack of issuing a forceful rebuke of President Trump after the sitting president suggested unproven COVID-19 treatments to the public earlier this year .
During a podcast on ABC News Wednesday , Birx described her interactions with Trump as “ respectful in public and very clear in private ” when discussing topics related to COVID-19 .
Birx , who has come under fire for not disputing Trump ’ s suggestions of unproven COVID-19 treatments during White House coronavirus task force briefings , insisted that she made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ interpretation of the epidemic ” in private remarks .
“ I think no one really knows what I ’ ve done inside the White House , ” Birx said .
“ That will all come to light because — this data — I write a daily report , so it ’ s very clear , my interpretation of the epidemic.
” Birx recalled that when Trump suggested during a press conference in April to inject disinfectants as a treatment for COVID-19 , the President was talking to the DHS scientists when he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he turned to me , I did say ‘ not a treatment , ’ ” Birx said .
“ I stand by that — it is not a treatment , that dialogue was not with me , however.
” Birx cited her experience serving in the military for 29 years as she stressed how she ’ s “ always been very respectful in public and very clear in private.
” “ And having come out of the military , our one rule is you ’ re a soldier , and you follow command @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Birx said , before adding that in the 10 months she ’ s worked in the White House , she has “ never received an unlawful order.
” “ And so I never had to break with that chain of command , ” Birx said .
Birx said that she and her colleagues on the White House coronavirus task force have shared their messages regarding the COVID-19 pandemic to the press as well as governors and mayors , who she said the task force has been “ very clear ” with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also go out and do press and we try to be very clear to the people of their state , ” Birx said .
Birx argued that she ’ s “ often found it ’ s really important ” to deliver “ something challenging ” in private so that you can “ work very hard to use everything that you have to convince people of what needs to be done.
” Asked whether she intends to work with the Biden administration when he takes office , Birx replied that she has been “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give them how I see the epidemic in the United States .
“ To send them slides and data so that they understand what I ’ m seeing , ” Birx said .
“ As a civil servant , I would go back to where I came from , I imagine , and it would be up to the Biden administration to decide if I could be any utility … or not.
” Earlier this month , Birx ’ s colleague on the White House coronavirus task force , Dr. Anthony Fauci , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s offer to be the chief medical adviser in his incoming administration “ right on the spot.
” Fauci had been sidelined by Trump as his public remarks often stood in stark contrast compared to the sitting president ’ s downplaying of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 300,000 Americans thus far .

Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, on Wednesday defended her lack of issuing a forceful rebuke of President Trump after the sitting president suggested unproven COVID-19 treatments to the public earlier this year.
During a podcast on ABC News Wednesday, Birx described her interactions with Trump as “respectful in public and very clear in private” when discussing topics related to COVID-19.
Birx, who has come under fire for not disputing Trump’s suggestions of unproven COVID-19 treatments during White House coronavirus task force briefings, insisted that she made “very clear” to Trump her “interpretation of the epidemic” in private remarks.
“I think no one really knows what I’ve done inside the White House,” Birx said. “That will all come to light because — this data — I write a daily report, so it’s very clear, my interpretation of the epidemic.”
Birx recalled that when Trump suggested during a press conference in April to inject disinfectants as a treatment for COVID-19, the President was talking to the DHS scientists when he issued his unsubstantiated statement.
“When he turned to me, I did say ‘not a treatment,’” Birx said. “I stand by that — it is not a treatment, that dialogue was not with me, however.”
Birx cited her experience serving in the military for 29 years as she stressed how she’s “always been very respectful in public and very clear in private.”
“And having come out of the military, our one rule is you’re a soldier, and you follow command until it’s an unlawful order,” Birx said, before adding that in the 10 months she’s worked in the White House, she has “never received an unlawful order.”
“And so I never had to break with that chain of command,” Birx said.
Birx said that she and her colleagues on the White House coronavirus task force have shared their messages regarding the COVID-19 pandemic to the press as well as governors and mayors, who she said the task force has been “very clear” with “in private.”
“Then we also go out and do press and we try to be very clear to the people of their state,” Birx said.
Birx argued that she’s “often found it’s really important” to deliver “something challenging” in private so that you can “work very hard to use everything that you have to convince people of what needs to be done.”
Asked whether she intends to work with the Biden administration when he takes office, Birx replied that she has been “in touch with the transition teams to give them how I see the epidemic in the United States.
“To send them slides and data so that they understand what I’m seeing,” Birx said. “As a civil servant, I would go back to where I came from, I imagine, and it would be up to the Biden administration to decide if I could be any utility … or not.”
Earlier this month, Birx’s colleague on the White House coronavirus task force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that he accepted President-elect Joe Biden’s offer to be the chief medical adviser in his incoming administration “right on the spot.” Fauci had been sidelined by Trump as his public remarks often stood in stark contrast compared to the sitting president’s downplaying of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 300,000 Americans thus far.
Listen to Birx’s remarks below


talkingpointsmemo--2020-12-16--15 AGs Demand WH Retain Docs Despite Trump’s ‘Utter Disregard’ For Record Keeping

Fifteen Democratic state attorneys general on Wednesday said in a letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone that President Trump has an obligation to comply with federal laws on record-keeping even in the waning weeks of his presidency .
In a three-page letter issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James ( D ) , the group of Democratic attorneys general demanded that Cipollone ensure that “ all White House personnel understand and comply with their record preservation obligations ” under the Presidential Records Act ( PRA ) .
The attorneys general requested confirmation of such compliance prior to January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden will officially take office .
James ’ letter was joined by attorneys general in the District of Columbia and the states of Connecticut , Delaware , Hawaii , Illinois , Iowa , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , New Mexico , Oregon , Virginia and Washington .
Following the Watergate scandal , the PRA was enacted in order to require that presidential administrations retain all “ documentary material ” of “ the activities , deliberations , decisions , and policies that reflect the performance of the President ’ s constitutional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceremonial duties.
” The letter stressed that the President must “ take all such steps as may be necessary ” to assure that material is “ adequately documented ” as well as “ preserved and maintained.
” The attorneys general pointed out that the President may only dispose of Presidential records if they “ no longer have administrative , historical , informational , or evidentiary value , ” and the Archivist of the United States approves of the proposed disposal in writing .
The attorneys general noted that the White House Counsel ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ memorandum reiterating staffers ’ obligations under the PRA since September 2017 , which said that “ willful destruction or concealment of federal records is a federal crime punishable by fines and imprisonment.
” The attorneys general took aim at Trump for having shown an “ utter disregard for his recordkeeping obligations ” under the PRA throughout his presidency .
They cited the sitting President ’ s history of ripping up notes at the close of meetings , going on a Twitter spree only to delete his tweets and his “ obstruction of notetaking.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner communicating with other administration officials as well as foreign officials through WhatsApp , a popular mobile messaging service owned by Facebook .
They also cited the President ’ s daughter Ivanka Trump having used a “ personal email account to send emails concerning White House business.
” Earlier this year , the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ( CREW ) sued Trump for failing to retain proper records of his meetings with the leaders of foreign nations under the PRA .
U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complaint by arguing that the court didn ’ t have the authority to enforce executive branch record-keeping compliance .
However , Berman warned against interpreting the ruling as justification that the Trump administration complied with the law .

Fifteen Democratic state attorneys general on Wednesday said in a letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone that President Trump has an obligation to comply with federal laws on record-keeping even in the waning weeks of his presidency.
In a three-page letter issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), the group of Democratic attorneys general demanded that Cipollone ensure that “all White House personnel understand and comply with their record preservation obligations” under the Presidential Records Act (PRA). The attorneys general requested confirmation of such compliance prior to January 20, 2021, when President-elect Joe Biden will officially take office.
James’ letter was joined by attorneys general in the District of Columbia and the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
Following the Watergate scandal, the PRA was enacted in order to require that presidential administrations retain all “documentary material” of “the activities, deliberations, decisions, and policies that reflect the performance of the President’s constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties.”
The letter stressed that the President must “take all such steps as may be necessary” to assure that material is “adequately documented” as well as “preserved and maintained.”
The attorneys general pointed out that the President may only dispose of Presidential records if they “no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value,” and the Archivist of the United States approves of the proposed disposal in writing.
The attorneys general noted that the White House Counsel’s Office hadn’t issued a memorandum reiterating staffers’ obligations under the PRA since September 2017, which said that “willful destruction or concealment of federal records is a federal crime punishable by fines and imprisonment.”
The attorneys general took aim at Trump for having shown an “utter disregard for his recordkeeping obligations” under the PRA throughout his presidency. They cited the sitting President’s history of ripping up notes at the close of meetings, going on a Twitter spree only to delete his tweets and his “obstruction of notetaking.”
The attorneys general also took issue with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner communicating with other administration officials as well as foreign officials through WhatsApp, a popular mobile messaging service owned by Facebook. They also cited the President’s daughter Ivanka Trump having used a “personal email account to send emails concerning White House business.”
Earlier this year, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued Trump for failing to retain proper records of his meetings with the leaders of foreign nations under the PRA. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected the complaint by arguing that the court didn’t have the authority to enforce executive branch record-keeping compliance. However, Berman warned against interpreting the ruling as justification that the Trump administration complied with the law.
Read the letter below: