MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-11-10 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Trump PAC - new phase of the post-election
|
Trump to Form Political Action Committee
Chris Kleponis/Zuma Press
President Trump is planning to start a political action committee that
will allow him to back candidates for office and exert financial
influence in Washington once his presidency ends.
“The President always planned to do this, win or lose, so he can support
candidates and issues he cares about, such as combating voter fraud,”
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.
The president is planning to form a so-called leadership PAC, a
committee created most often by current and former members of Congress
to help them expand their influence and raise their profile.
The PAC would allow Mr. Trump to continue to raise money from his
campaign's extensive list of supporters. The PAC could accept donations
of up to $5,000 per year, a markedly lower cap than what the Trump
campaign and Republican National Committee have been able to accept. The
president’s campaign was short on cash heading into the final stretch of
the election.
Cash from the committee can be used to pay for staff and travel, even if
it isn’t directly linked to a campaign. Mr. Trump could also try to use
the committee to pay for certain legal expenses, as Vice President Mike
Pence considered doing in 2017 before deciding against it.
The committee will be able to make donations to other campaigns of up to
$2,800 per election.
The New York Times first reported Mr. Trump’s plans to start a PAC.
1 hour ago
Trump Tweets Erode Trust in Elections Among Supporters, Study Finds
Carri Dusza, a supporter of President Trump, holds a placard in
Philadelphia on Nov. 8.Mark Makela/Reuters
President Trump’s tweets questioning the U.S. election’s legitimacy are
effective in shaping his supporters’ beliefs on that topic, while his
tweets boosted his detractors’ confidence in elections, according to a
study believed to be the first to estimate the effect of the president’s
posts about voting.
The study, led by a Stanford University political science researcher
alongside five researchers at other U.S. universities, measured the
impact of Mr. Trump’s election rhetoric among roughly 2,000 respondents
from both major political parties from Oct. 7 to Oct. 24. It took place
in four waves where respondents were randomly assigned to view dozens of
Mr. Trump’s tweets about election integrity, politics in general and
other topics, including claims that lacked evidence.
Respondents at various points were asked questions, including if they
believe elections are rigged, whether presidential candidates should
accept election outcomes or whether they thought violence may be
necessary to ensure proper vote counting. They were asked to answer, on
a scale, questions including how frequently they thought stealing or
ballot tampering occurs and whether they support military rule or a
democratic political system. They were also asked to indicate their
emotional responses after seeing tweets from Mr. Trump, who has more
than 88 million followers.
The researchers then used statistical modeling to measure the effect of
the tweets they saw for certain treatments, like trust and confidence in
elections, support for democratic norms or support for political
violence or democracy, said Katie Clayton, a political science
researcher at Stanford University and the study's lead author. They
looked at whether there were changes over time by comparing the
responses across different waves of the study.
The tweets sometimes reduced the belief among Trump supporters in a
peaceful transfer of power, said Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth College
political science professor and study co-author. They generally didn’t
increase support for political violence, according to the study.
The researchers acknowledge the study's limitations. Because the
respondents aren’t reading the tweets in real time, they aren't seeing
other contextual information, for example. Twitter in recent weeks has
more frequently labeled Mr. Trump's tweets that are misleading, limiting
their visibility.
A Twitter spokesman said the company believes research about the impact
of political speech is most effective when looking comprehensively
across media platforms, especially because many of Mr. Trump’s claims
that lacked supporting evidence were livestreamed and broadcast with no
warnings.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in SeptemberKen
Cedeno/Pool/Shutterstock
2 hours ago
Biden’s Plan to Shift Energy Policy Faces Headwinds
President-elect Joe Biden seeks to give priority to a transition to
cleaner energy sources. A wind farm in Indiana.tannen maury/Shutterstock
Energy and climate policy will be among President-elect Joe Biden’s top
priorities when he steps into the Oval Office next year, but it could
also prove one of his toughest challenges.
President Trump has been a champion of traditional energy industries
such as coal and oil. Mr. Biden wants to supercharge a transition to
cleaner energy sources and has said reversing several Trump
administration rollbacks of regulations aimed at combating climate
change is a “Day 1” priority.
Mr. Biden’s presidential authority gives him the power to move quickly.
He can order the U.S. back into the Paris climate accord, end a dispute
with California on its tougher tailpipe-emission rules and work with it
on a national standard, and slow or halt oil leasing on federal lands.
He has promised to do all of these things.
Mr. Biden’s biggest ambitions, however, will require help. He has
proposed a $2 trillion overhaul for energy and transportation
infrastructure as a way to address both climate change and the
coronavirus pandemic’s economic downturn. That would need support from
Congress, and lobbyists and analysts expect Republicans will block many
of his requests if they maintain Senate control.
Read the full article.
2 hours ago
Biden and Harris to Discuss Court Challenge to Affordable Care Act
The Supreme Court isn’t expected to make a decision on arguments against
the Affordable Care Act until the end of June.Patrick
Semansky/Associated Press
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Del.,
this afternoon about the case before the Supreme Court today that could
overturn the Affordable Care Act.
President Trump and Senate Republicans never found a path to repeal or
replace the Obama-era health-care law. But by reducing to zero the
penalty for failing to maintain health insurance, they effectively
removed the piece they found most objectionable.
In today’s case, a Texas-led group of Republican-leaning states, backed
by the Trump administration, contend that change made the entire
health-care law unconstitutional. If a majority of justices agree, the
result could be loss of health-care coverage for at least 20 million
Americans.
Mr. Biden ran on expanding the Affordable Care Act and has said he wants
to resurrect the law’s penalty on people who go without coverage. That
could make a decision to strike down the health law moot. The law would
become constitutional if Congress imposed a token penalty of $1 or
declared it wasn’t mandatory to carry insurance.
3 hours ago
How Politics Has Pulled the Country in Different Directions
A Biden supporter and a Trump supporter argue in Madison, Wis.bing
guan/Reuters
If it seems like political divisions have sharpened in recent years, it
may be because an increasing number of Americans are living in red and
blue bubbles.
Surveys from Pew Research Center have found “ideological silos” now
common on both the left and right, and “consistently” conservative and
liberal Americans are more likely than ideologically mixed Americans to
say it is important to them to live in a place where most people share
their political views.
A WSJ Visuals report: The 2020 election results are just the latest
indicator of how Americans have been drifting apart for decades.
3 hours ago
Biden’s First Foreign Policy Task Is a Global Covid-19 Response
Joe Biden during his campaign staked out sharply contrasting positions
with President Trump on how to curb Iran’s nuclear program and pursue
arms control with Russia.saul loeb/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden is planning to move quickly to rebuild ties
with longstanding U.S. allies and use those ties to coordinate
international efforts to deal with Covid-19 and its economic and
humanitarian consequences.
Early steps will include rejoining and trying to reform the World Health
Organization while using international venues such as the Group of Seven
nations and Group of 20 major economies to focus on the coronavirus
pandemic and its consequences, including a potential debt crisis in
emerging markets and food insecurity in impoverished nations, a top aide
to Mr. Biden said.
As Mr. Biden campaigned for the presidency, he staked out sharply
contrasting positions with President Trump on how to curb Iran’s nuclear
program, pursue arms control with Russia and tackle climate change.
But the necessity of dealing with the pandemic is expected to dominate
the start of the incoming administration’s foreign-policy efforts.
“There is an urgent leadership requirement internationally with regard
to Covid-19,” said Antony Blinken, Mr. Biden’s senior foreign-policy
adviser. “The first thing we have to deal with, domestically as well as
internationally, is working to get out from under the Covid rock.”
Read the full article.
3 hours ago
Biden’s Election Win Was a Big Bet for These Wall Street Executives
Joe Biden with former hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer, who had sought the
Democratic nomination for president, in January.sam wolfe/Reuters
A new administration produces a new cast of Wall Street players with
lines into the White House. But Joe Biden’s backers in the industry are
unlikely to share the close access enjoyed by the coterie of financiers
who had the ear of President Trump.
Wall Street overwhelmingly put its money behind Mr. Biden in this
election, and donations have always bought some level of access to the
Oval Office. Hedge-fund investors Donald Sussman and James Simons and
investment bankers Blair Effron and Roger Altman were among the biggest
financial backers of the president-elect.
Roger Ferguson, chief executive of retirement manager TIAA-CREF, is in
the mix for a cabinet post, according to people familiar with the
matter. And financial executives like Morgan Stanley executive Tom Nides
and former hedge-fund manager and presidential candidate Tom Steyer
publicly backed Mr. Biden and could emerge with influence, or jobs, in
his administration.
Some who are active in the party or who held positions in past
Democratic administrations—such as finance veteran Jeffrey Zients,
co-chairman of Mr. Biden’s transition team, and Goldman Sachs Group
Inc.’s Jake Siewert, who served as press secretary in the Clinton White
House and in the Treasury Department under President Obama—could join
the new administration, Democratic fundraisers say.
Another Goldman executive who could head to Washington is Margaret
Anadu, the 39-year-old head of Goldman Sachs’s urban-investment
initiatives, whose name is said to have been floated for an economic
policy position.
Read the full article.
4 hours ago
Biden’s Tax Agenda Faces Blockade if GOP Holds Senate
Joe Biden in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 4.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden’s tax plan is on life support even before he
takes office, and his chances of raising taxes on businesses and
high-income individuals likely rest on whether Democrats can win two
January runoffs in Georgia to take control of the U.S. Senate.
If Republicans keep their grip on the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R., Ky.) could block the tax increases Mr. Biden seeks and
extend the low-tax Trump era.
Even with control of the Senate, Democrats would be limited by what can
get through the House, where their majority is shrinking.
During the campaign President Trump was vague on his second-term plans,
so much of the tax-policy focus was on Mr. Biden’s calls for higher
taxes on corporations, capital gains and households making over
$400,000. The agenda—a net tax increase of more than $2 trillion over a
decade—was an important part of his campaign and was designed to pay for
expanded federal spending on health, education and environmental programs.
But without Democratic control of the Senate, the tax increases would be
off the table and the fate of the spending programs uncertain.
Read the full article.
Tax Showdown
President-elect Joe Biden's sweeping tax plan faces an uncertain future
in Congress, regardless of which party is in control. Tax reporter
Richard Rubin explains. J.R. Whalen hosts.
Listen to Podcast
12 hours ago
Trump Campaign Asks Federal Judge to Block Pennsylvania From Certifying
Election Results
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, RNC Chairwoman Ronna
McDaniel and Trump campaign lawyer Matthew Morgan speak on Monday about
GOP legal efforts in Pennsylvania. Brendan Smialowski/Agence
France-Presse/Getty Images
President Trump’s presidential campaign on Monday asked a federal judge
to block Pennsylvania election officials from certifying the results of
the election.
Matthew Morgan, a Trump campaign lawyer, alleged at a press conference
in Washington that Republicans were unfairly treated in Pennsylvania’s
election process and that GOP poll watchers weren’t able to closely
observe mail-in ballot counting. He didn’t provide any evidence for his
assertions.
Mr. Morgan said more than 682,000 ballots were counted in Philadelphia
and Allegheny County while poll watchers were kept at a distance. “We
believe that a meaningful review of those ballots could discern that
there were ballots that were illegally counted,” Mr. Morgan said.
Among other issues, the lawsuit contends that in-person and mail-in
ballot voters were treated differently, with some people who voted by
mail being allowed to fix technical issues, such as a problem with a
signature. The Trump campaign argued that the difference in treatment
violates the U.S. Constitution.
Local election officials have previously said that they followed all
applicable rules, some of which changed before the election due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
The Trump campaign and two people identified as Pennsylvania voters
filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania against the state’s secretary of state Kathy Boockvar, a
Democrat.
A spokeswoman for Ms. Boockvar said the office doesn't comment on
pending litigation.
The Trump campaign has previously filed lawsuits in state and federal
court in Pennsylvania alleging observers weren't allowed close enough to
meaningfully view the vote count.
They have filed additional lawsuits in battleground states such as
Michigan, Nevada and Georgia, several of which they have lost.
13 hours ago
Biden Weighs Legal Action to Force Trump Administration to Recognize Win
The General Services Administration headquarters building in
Washington.Saul Loeb/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is considering legal action
if the Trump administration doesn’t formalize Mr. Biden’s win and give
him access to crucial government resources.
The General Services Administration, a little-known government agency,
is tasked with “ascertaining” the results of the presidential election,
a technical designation that would trigger the flow of government
resources to the president-elect's team.
The GSA has so far declined to take that typically routine step as
President Trump continues to dispute the results of the election and
refuses to concede.
“There are no updates at this time and GSA’s position remains the same,”
a GSA spokeswoman said on Monday, confirming that the agency hadn’t yet
identified a winner of the election.
On a Friday internal call, a senior GSA official reminded others agency
officials not to move forward with transition activities with Mr.
Biden’s team until the GSA formally identified a winner of the election,
according to a person familiar with the matter.
“There are a number of options on the table, legal action is certainly a
possibility, but there are other options as well we are considering,” a
Biden transition official said on a call with reporters Monday night.
Without the GSA’s designation, Mr. Biden’s team is unable to view
detailed classified information, send representatives in to embed with
government agencies and have the State Department facilitate calls with
foreign leaders.
The lack of access could also push back Mr. Biden’s selection of Cabinet
officials because the ability to conduct background investigations for
security clearances is also frozen.
Mr. Biden has also been unable to receive the same intelligence
briefings as the president because the Director of National Intelligence
is also waiting for an ascertainment, according to a spokesperson for
the Office of The Director of National Intelligence. As the Democratic
nominee, Mr. Biden was given intelligence briefings, but they were not
as detailed as what the president receives.
In past elections, the GSA has sent a letter identifying the winner
within days of the Associated Press and television networks calling the
election, long before the results are made official by the Electoral
College. In 2008, the letter was signed within hours. The only time in
recent history the GSA did not quickly identify a winner was in the
aftermath of the tight 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
“We believe that it is clear that President-elect Biden and Kamala
Harris should be entitled to all GSA functions and all functions across
government and we’re asking the GSA administrator to make a proper
ascertainment,” said one Biden official. “And we believe that it’s been
very, very clear that we are the winners in this election.”
After the GSA makes its determination, Mr. Biden’s team will also have
access to millions of dollars in government resources, a bigger office
space and government email addresses.
Biden transition officials privately expressed deep frustration about
what they see as the GSA slow-walking the ascertainment. Officials have
been discussing possible legal options, though it’s unclear how they
might proceed, a second transition official said.
The transition team has begun taking early steps to vet potential
personnel picks by organizing financial disclosure information, the
second transition official said. But without the GSA’s sign-off, the
transition can’t turn to the task of clearing possible Cabinet picks and
other senior officials through the FBI’s background check process—a step
that can take weeks.
The Trump administration has separately conducted background checks so
that transition officials can receive security clearances.
15 hours ago
Trump Campaign Launches New Tactic in Legal Fight
The Trump campaign and its allies unveiled a new tactic to contest
election vote counts, suing to stop state officials from finalizing
results due to fraud allegations in Michigan and limits imposed on poll
observers in Pennsylvania.
Judges likely would be reluctant to take the rare step of blocking final
vote counts without seeing substantial evidence of fraud or
irregularities widespread enough to change the election, legal analysts
said.
President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner by the Associated
Press in Michigan and Pennsylvania by margins that election-law experts
say would be difficult to overcome in court. In Michigan, Mr. Biden’s
lead was 146,000 votes with 99% counted, and in Pennsylvania it was over
45,000 votes with 99% counted.
The Trump campaign filed a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania, and a
conservative legal group said it filed a state lawsuit in Michigan,
calling on judges to block state officials from certifying the election
results.
Read the full article.
16 hours ago
Attorney General William Barr Tells Prosecutors They Can Pursue Election
Probes
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg News
Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors to
pursue "substantial allegations” of voting and vote-tabulation
irregularities before the 2020 presidential election is certified, as
President Trump continued to make unsubstantiated allegations of
widespread voter fraud.
In a memo to U.S. attorneys sent and made public Monday, Mr. Barr said
investigations “may be conducted if there are clear and
apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could
potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual
State.”
Mr. Barr’s memo allows prosecutors to circumvent longstanding Justice
Department policy that had generally instructed officials not to open
investigations into election-related criminal behavior until after the
election is complete and the results are certified.
That policy was designed to avoid the appearance that the department
could be interfering with the outcome. Mr. Barr called that a “passive
and delayed enforcement approach” that could allow misconduct to continue.
The Justice Department official who oversees investigations of voter
fraud, Richard Pilger, stepped down from his post Monday night, telling
colleagues his decision was in response to Mr. Barr's memo. He will stay
on as a prosecutor at the Justice Department in a non supervisory role,
a person familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Barr’s decision comes as Mr. Trump is refusing to concede the
presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden, who was declared winner by
the Associated Press in Michigan and Pennsylvania by margins that
election-law experts say would be difficult to overcome in court.
Mr. Trump has alleged without evidence that Democrats are trying to
“steal” the election and disenfranchise his voters. His campaign and
Republican groups have filed lawsuits in several states, many of which
are limited in scope, making them unlikely to produce large vote swings
even if successful, experts say.
Mr. Barr’s memo noted "nothing here should be taken as any indication
that the department has concluded that voting irregularities have
impacted the outcome of any election."
He added that "specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims
should not be the basis for initiating federal inquiries."
Department officials have historically taken great pains to avoid the
appearance of interference in elections. Mr. Barr said in the memo that
concerns that the department could inadvertently impact an election are
minimized once voting has concluded, even if the race hasn’t been certified.
Former Justice Department officials said the memo could sow doubts about
the election outcome and about the process even if it doesn't impact the
outcome.
“It’s harmful and destructive, but there's no path from there to
changing the outcome of the election,” said Justin Levitt, a former
Justice Department official and professor at Loyola Law School in Los
Angeles. Federal prosecutors can investigate and charge those who commit
voter fraud, but they cannot decide whether a ballot can be counted, Mr.
Levitt said, noting that power is reserved for state officials.
The Trump campaign and its allies unveiled a new tactic to contest
election vote counts.
A Justice Department official released the memo several hours after Mr.
Barr met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who would not
comment on the purpose of the meeting. He later announced he was backing
Mr. Trump in refusing to concede the race.
“President Trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of
irregularities and weigh his legal options,” Mr. McConnell said on the
Senate floor.
A Justice Department official said Mr. Barr had not been asked by
lawmakers, Mr. Trump or anyone else at the White House to issue the memo.
Aruna Viswanatha contributed to this article.
16 hours ago
Gingrich Says Trump Commitment to Election Legal Battle Has Intensified
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke to members of the press as he
left the West Wing in 2018.Michael Reynolds/EPA/Shutterstock
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a vocal proponent of the Trump
campaign's continuing efforts to fight the election outcome, said
President Trump's commitment to the legal battle has only intensified in
recent days.
"I think he's just getting madder," Mr. Gingrich said in an interview
Monday evening. The former speaker, who ran unsuccessfully for president
in 2012 and is close to Mr. Trump, has become an informal adviser to the
campaign's legal effort and joined a meeting of the legal team on Sunday
evening.
Mr. Gingrich said the campaign's legal strategy has three parts:
emphasizing that media outlets calling the race does not amount to
official certification; finding "sufficiently comprehensive" examples of
election fraud to sway public opinion; and pursuing a wide variety of
lawsuits.
There is no evidence of widespread election fraud. Judges in Georgia,
Michigan and Nevada have already rejected the campaign's cases.
There has also been increasing dissatisfaction with the effort
internally, as advisers to the president point fingers over what many
see as a slapdash legal effort.
Advisers complained that for days last week, they didn't know who was in
charge of the effort. On Friday, the campaign tapped Dave Bossie, Mr.
Trump's deputy campaign manager in 2016 who is not an attorney, to lead
the legal effort. Two days later, he tested positive for Covid-19,
according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mr. Gingrich, asked who was leading the effort now, said: "I have no
idea." He declined to say who had led Sunday evening's meeting.
Asked whether he had broached the prospect of conceding the race to the
president, he said: "I would never discuss it because I don't believe in
it."
"Given the level of corruption that I think the country's now sucked
down into, I would probably never concede," Mr. Gingrich added. "But
then that's me. I'm just a retired guy hanging out."
17 hours ago
No Evidence of Systematic Fraud in U.S. Elections, International
Observer Mission Reports
People watch results on a bar television in West Hollywood, Calif., on
Thursday, two days after the election.Chris Pizzello/Associated Press
A team of international observers invited by the Trump administration
has issued a preliminary report giving high marks to the conduct of last
week’s elections--and it criticizes President Trump for making baseless
allegations that the outcome resulted from systematic fraud.
A 28-member delegation from the Organization of American States followed
events in several locations across the U.S., including in the
battleground states of Georgia and Michigan, both remotely and with
observers at polling stations and counting centers.
“While the OAS Mission has not directly observed any serious
irregularities that call into question the results so far, it supports
the right of all contesting parties in an election, to seek redress
before the competent legal authorities when they believe they have been
wronged,” the report said. “It is critical however, that candidates act
responsibly by presenting and arguing legitimate claims before the
courts, not unsubstantiated or harmful speculation in the public media.”
The OAS assessment followed similar findings by an election observation
team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
“Baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the
incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in
democratic institutions,” Michael Georg Link, leader of the short-term
OSCE observer mission, said last week.
The 20-OAS page report praised state and local officials for efforts to
facilitate voting during the coronavirus pandemic and, while it had
numerous recommendations for improving the elections system, found no
evidence of the pervasive fraud that Mr. Trump, who has not conceded the
presidential election, has insisted caused his loss to President-elect
Joe Biden.
The report noted: '"In his statement the Republican candidate cast
further aspersions on the US electoral process, stating that 'This is a
case where they’re trying to steal an election. They’re trying to rig an
election and we can’t let that happen.' The OAS observers deployed in
the battleground states of Michigan and Georgia did not witness any of
the aforementioned irregularities.'''
Led by OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro, the 28-member team included
specialists and observers from 13 countries. The OAS routinely sends
missions to report independently on elections in member states; this
year alone, its observers have filed reports from Costa Rica, the
Dominican Republic, Guyana, Peru and Suriname.
The State Department invited the OAS to send in its team in October, and
observers remained in place from Oct. 23 to Nov. 7.
“On Election Day, the members of the Mission were present at polling
places in Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and the District of
Columbia, and observed the process from the opening of the polling
centers through to the close of polls and the deposit of voting
materials with the appropriate local authorities,'' the report said.
"Members of the Mission also visited tabulations centers to observe the
tallying of result. In the jurisdictions that it observed, the Mission
found that the day progressed in a peaceful manner.”
The Mission notes that attempts by members of the public to ‘stop the
count,’ in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona, "were clear examples of
intimidation of electoral officials.”
A more detailed final report is forthcoming, the OAS said.
18 hours ago
David Bossie, Head of Trump Post-Election Legal Effort, Tests Positive
for Covid-19
David Bossie on Thursday.Matt York/Associated Press
David Bossie, a longtime confidant of President Trump whom the campaign
tapped last week to lead its post-election legal efforts, tested
positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the
matter.
Word of Mr. Bossie's infection, first reported by Bloomberg News,
follows a series of other positive tests among President Trump's
advisers. Nick Trainer, the Trump campaign's director of battleground
strategy, tested positive on Election Day. White House chief of staff
Mark Meadows, who visited campaign headquarters on Tuesday and attended
an election party at the White House later that night without wearing a
mask, tested positive after that. Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Ben Carson tested positive on Monday morning, his office said.
The White House hosted more than 100 people indoors for an Election
Night party last week. Messrs. Bossie, Meadows and Carson all attended
the event, where few people wore masks.
Mr. Bossie and the Trump campaign didn't respond to requests for comment.
In the six days since the election, the Trump campaign has struggled to
find its footing as it seeks to fight the results after the Associated
Press and other outlets called the race for former Vice President Joe
Biden. Trump allies complained that for days last week, they didn't know
who was in charge of the effort, whose most visible leader was Rudy
Giuliani, the president's personal attorney.
On Friday, the campaign tapped Mr. Bossie, who isn't a lawyer, to lead
the effort. His positive test came two days later.
18 hours ago
Senate Races Still Uncalled in Alaska and North Carolina
Two Senate races remained uncalled by the Associated Press on Monday
afternoon as states continue to count absentee and provisional ballots.
In North Carolina, GOP Sen. Thom Tillis is leading Democrat Cal
Cunningham by about 1.7 percentage points, or about 95,000 votes. Mr.
Cunningham's campaign has urged for all votes to be counted, while Mr.
Tillis declared victory on election night before the race was called.
There are about 94,900 outstanding absentee ballots, though the North
Carolina State Board of Elections said it doesn’t anticipate all of them
to be returned. About 40,700 provisional ballots could be included in
the final tally. The deadline for accepting mail-in ballots postmarked
by Election Day is Nov. 12.
In Alaska, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is currently leading independent Al
Gross by about 30 percentage points, with tens of thousands of votes yet
to be counted. More than 157,000 ballots will be counted starting this week.
Mr. Gross has said he believes he will prevail after all votes are
tallied, while a spokesman for Mr. Sullivan said the campaign is
confident the incumbent will maintain his advantage. Absentee ballots
aren't counted until a week after Election Day, and more results aren't
expected to be reported until Tuesday Nov. 10, according to the Alaska
Division of Elections.
Runoffs for both of Georgia’s seats are to be held on Jan. 5 because no
candidate in either race received 50% of the vote. If Republicans hold
their seats in Alaska and North Carolina, Democrats would need to win
both those Georgia races to gain majority control of the Senate, with
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, in her role as president of the
Senate, casting any tie-breaking votes.
The AP hasn’t called the presidential race in either North Carolina or
Alaska. Alaska isn’t a presidential tossup: Mr. Trump won the state by
about 15 percentage points in 2016. He is narrowly leading in North
Carolina, where the results aren’t expected to change the outcome of the
presidential race.
18 hours ago
Georgia GOP Senate Candidates Call for Republican Secretary of State to
Resign
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Friday.Dustin
Chambers/Reuters
Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, both locked in
runoffs against Democrats following last week’s close elections here,
called on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow
Republican, to resign on Monday for what they said was mismanagement of
the vote count.
“The management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our
state,” the two said in a joint press release. “Georgians are outraged,
and rightly so. We have been clear from the beginning: every legal vote
cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not. And there must be
transparency and uniformity in the counting process.”
The two offered no specifics or proof of any voting irregularities or
anyone voting illegally.
Mr. Raffensperger rejected the calls for his resignation.
“The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire
me,” he said in a statement. “I know emotions are running high. Politics
are involved in everything right now...But I am the duly elected
Secretary of State. One of my duties involves helping to run elections
for all Georgia voters. I have taken that oath, and I will execute that
duty and follow Georgia law.”
He added: "As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the
U.S. Senate. I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start
focusing on that.''
Last week’s election, marked by few glitches or long lines that have
plagued elections in Georgia in the past, had a historically high
turnout, with almost 5 million ballots cast. It also was close, and the
count is still underway.
Currently, President-elect Joe Biden is leading President Trump by about
10,000 votes, but the margin is so narrow that it is expected to go to a
recount.
Georgia law allows for a recount if the margin between candidates is
less than 0.5%. In their races, Sens. Perdue and Loeffler both didn’t
receive more than 50% of the vote, meaning the contests automatically
went to runoffs.
They will be held Jan. 5 between the two top vote-getters in each race.
Sen. Perdue faces Jon Ossoff and Sen. Loeffler faces Raphael Warnock.
The outcomes of those elections likely will play a critical role in
determining which party controls the U.S. Senate next year.
A spokesman for the Democrats senatorial campaigns declined to comment.
18 hours ago
Cheri Bustos to Leave Democratic Campaign Post After Weak House Results
House Television/Associated Press
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Cheri Bustos plans to
leave her position after this term, she announced Monday, after
Democrats lost several seats in the House that they predicted they would
hold.
Ms. Bustos, an Illinois Democrat who represents a district that
President Trump won in 2016, campaigned for the position by telling
members of her caucus that she understood Trump voters. But Democrats
failed to increase their majority in the 2020 election, contrary to
predictions by top Democrats and pollsters.
Voters turned out for Mr. Trump in those districts, many of which were
flipped in 2018, and Democrats lost several seats, with more races still
to be called. Ms. Bustos won her seat this year with 51.8% of the vote,
compared with 48.2% for her GOP opponent, attorney Esther Joy King, her
closest finish to date.
As of Monday afternoon, the Democrats had won 215 seats to Republicans'
196, with some seats still to be decided.
In her statement, Ms. Bustos said she wanted to focus on legislating
with a Democratic president, as a member of the agriculture and
appropriations committees.
"I am well-positioned to turn my focus to strengthening infrastructure
and health care in the cities, small towns and rural areas I serve," she
said. "I look forward to working with President-elect Joe Biden, Vice
President-Elect Kamala Harris and our House Majority to get real results
For The People.”
Ms. Bustos faced criticism in her post. Last year, she replaced top
staffers after criticism from lawmakers that there was not enough
diversity on the staff. That came months after the progressives had
expressed anger that Ms. Bustos announced she would not work with
consultants and vendors who help candidates challenge incumbent House
Democrats.
The vacancy opens up a leadership position for Democrats. Already,
several lawmakers are in the mix for possibly running for the post,
including Reps. Tony Cárdenas from California and Marc Veasey from
Texas, according to people familiar.
Shortly after Ms. Bustos's announcement, New York Democratic Rep. Sean
Patrick Maloney announced to colleagues that he was entering the race.
Earlier: Pelosi Faces Lawmakers Frustrated Over Loss of House Seats
Some Democratic lawmakers said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others
oversold their prospects and didn’t adequately protect members from
being attacked as socialists.
Read the full article
19 hours ago
GOP AGs Back Bid for U.S. Supreme Court Case on Pennsylvania's Ballot
Deadline
Election workers count ballots at the Philadelphia Convention Center
last week.Chris McGrath/Getty Images
A group of 10 Republican state attorneys general filed an amicus brief
on Monday supporting Pennsylvania Republicans in asking the U.S. Supreme
Court to reverse the state’s three-day extension for receiving mail-in
ballots.
The brief, led by the office of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt,
argued that a decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to extend the
state’s ballot-receipt period beyond its normal Election Day deadline
encroached on the authority of the state legislature. The state AGs also
argued that the three-day extension exacerbated the risk of mail-in
ballot fraud.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, also a Republican, filed a separate
amicus brief making similar arguments.
The high court hasn't said whether it will hear the Pennsylvania case,
nor has it decided whether to grant the Trump campaign’s request to
intervene in the litigation.
Amicus, or friend-of-the-court, briefs are a way for third parties to
voice support for one of the litigants in a case and make additional
arguments that might not have been included in the litigant’s legal
papers. Such filings can influence the justices’ thinking in some
circumstances, but other times don’t add much to the court’s deliberations.
Pennsylvania’s deadline for receiving ballots in the mail was extended
to 5 p.m. Nov. 6, as long as there wasn’t evidence they were cast after
the deadline on Election Day, Nov. 3.
The number of later-arriving ballots has been relatively low,
Pennsylvania’s chief election official previously said, meaning the case
may have little immediate practical consequence. The Associated Press
said Saturday that President-elect Joe Biden won Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) previously said in a
court document that voters must sign and date their mail-in ballot
envelope, and that Republicans didn’t provide evidence to support the
idea that hordes of voters would try to fraudulently cast their ballot
after Election Day.
19 hours ago
Tally of Early Votes Surpasses 107 Million
Election workers collect returned ballots before the election in
Vancouver, Wash.Nathan Howard/Getty Images
At least 107 million Americans voted early in the presidential election
as the pandemic reshaped how people chose to cast ballots across the
country.
The figure released Monday by the Associated Press, which compiles early
vote totals from state and local officials, indicates about 72% of the
total 149 million ballots counted so far nationwide were cast either in
person before Election Day or through the mail. The number will continue
to grow as states continue to tabulate mail-in ballots.
Ahead of Election Day, early voting this cycle had already surpassed the
58.8 million cast in 2016. Nearly every state exceeded its early voting
totals four years ago, and a handful even topped their total 2016
turnout prior to Nov. 3.
Election analysts had said the historic levels of early voting suggested
it would be a record turnout year, and they were right.
Overall, President-elect Joe Biden received the most votes for a
presidential candidate ever with 75.6 million as of Monday afternoon.
President Trump has received the second most votes with 71.1 million.
19 hours ago
McConnell Backs Trump in Not Conceding Race
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) backed President
Trump’s unwillingness to concede the presidential election on Monday,
saying Mr. Trump was “100% within his rights” to continue his legal
challenges.
In his first comments since Democrat Joe Biden reached the number of
electoral votes necessary to win the White House, Mr. McConnell became
the highest-ranking Republican to not acknowledge Mr. Biden as the
president-elect. Mr. McConnell joined House Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R., Calif.), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.) and
other senior Republicans in backing Mr. Trump’s continued challenges to
the election’s outcome.
“President Trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of
irregularities and weigh his legal options,” Mr. McConnell said on the
Senate floor Monday. “Let’s not have any lectures--no lectures about how
the president should immediately, cheerfully accept preliminary election
results from the same characters who just spent four years refusing to
accept the validity of the last election."
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton conceded defeat the morning after the
election in 2016, the same day that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.,
Calif.), then the minority leader, called Mr. Trump the president-elect.
“After an election in which Donald Trump won the Electoral College and
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, we have a responsibility to come
together and find common ground,” Mrs. Pelosi said then.
Mr. McConnell on Monday said he was confident the process would be
resolved in time for the peaceful transition of power on Inauguration Day.
“In January, the winner of this election will place his hand on a Bible,
just like it has happened every four years since 1793,” he said.
Mr. Trump said on Twitter Monday that he believes he will win the state
of Georgia, that Wisconsin is “looking very good” and that Nevada is “is
turning out to be a cesspool of Fake Votes.” There is no evidence of
widespread voter fraud in Nevada or any other state.
19 hours ago
Pennsylvania High Court to Hear Poll Observer Case in Philadelphia
Poll observers watched as ballots were counted in Philadelphia, Pa., on
Nov. 3. rachel wisniewski/Reuters
Pennsylvania’s highest court said Monday it would hear a case over how
much access poll observers have to the vote-counting process, an issue
that has emerged as a major complaint of the Trump campaign in the
battleground state.
The announcement by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is a win for
Philadelphia election officials, who had appealed a lower court ruling
in favor of the Trump campaign. The campaign has said its observers
haven’t been able to get close enough to the vote-counting process,
particularly in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia election officials said they had set up an area where
candidates and party representatives could view the room without
impeding the vote-processing operation.
On Monday, the court also said its order shouldn't be viewed as a stay
on the ongoing processing and counting of ballots.
The case began on Election Day, when a Trump campaign lawyer testified
in Election Court in Philadelphia that he couldn’t closely observe vote
processing at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The observers were
allowed to view election workers from behind a barricade, he said, but
couldn’t get close enough to read writing on envelopes and other details.
The judge ruled in favor of Philadelphia officials, who had said they
had erected the barricades to protect voter privacy and enforce social
distancing.
“Given that observers are directed only to observe and not to audit
ballots, we conclude, based on the witness's testimony, the Board of
Elections has complied with the observation requirements,” said Judge
Stella Tsai of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
The Trump campaign appealed, and on Nov. 5, a state appeals court judge
reversed the lower-court decision, saying that poll observers were
required to be able to closely watch the count.
Philadelphia election officials then appealed to the state Supreme Court.
After the state appeals court ruling, the Trump campaign filed a federal
lawsuit last week, arguing its observers were being blocked from viewing
the count at the convention center. That evening, a federal court
dismissed the case after the parties reached an agreement.
19 hours ago
Ask WSJ: Monday's Stock Market Surge
U.S. stocks soared Monday after positive though incomplete news on a
Covid-19 vaccine and as Joe Biden's win brings reduced uncertainty about
the election. Submit your questions now, and at 4:30 p.m. ET join the
Wall Street Journal's Financial Editor Charles Forelle, Markets Reporter
Akane Otani and Heard on the Street Editor Spencer Jakab as they dissect
how investors are recalibrating their expectations for stocks and the
economy.
20 hours ago
Thinking About Moving to Georgia to Vote in Runoffs? Better Hurry and
Plan to Stay
ATLANTA — The two Senate runoff races under way in Georgia give
Democrats a chance to flip seats currently held by Republicans, and some
activists on social media have discussed the prospect of moving to the
Peach State to vote in the Jan. 5 elections.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang already announced
on Twitter that he and his wife are moving to Georgia to campaign for
the Democratic candidates, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, against
Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. He did not say whether
he planned to register to vote in the state.
All the chatter raises the question: Is it legal?
The answer is: yes, but any potential voters would have to move quickly
since the last day to be registered for the Jan. 5 contests is Dec. 7.
And, the new resident also would have to stay in the state for a while
or risk getting into trouble.
Under Georgia law, anyone with a legal primary residence in the state
can register to vote with their county board of elections. The law does
not specify a specific time limit.
A spokesman for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, which oversees
voter registrations, declined to comment on how quickly someone could
establish legal residency in Georgia, but cited state law that it is a
felony to vote in Georgia elections if you are not a legal resident or
if you are residing in the state briefly with the intention just to vote
and then move away.
“These are sensitive issues, and election officials are going to pay
attention to what is happening,” said Enrijeta Shino, a University of
North Florida political science professor who has researched voting
issues in Georgia. “People should be very careful about doing that.”
People moving to Georgia briefly can work on campaigns and canvass for
candidates, but voting in the state without the intention of staying
would be considered fraud, she warned.
Legal residents of Georgia that turn 18 between now and Dec. 7 would be
eligible to register in the runoff, she added.
One of the main ways to establish proof of residency is to provide a
valid Georgia driver’s license. People must bring proof of
identification, Social Security number and a Georgia primary residence
(such as a utility bill). The state Department of Driver Services sends
information on new residents obtaining driver's licenses to the Georgia
Secretary of State’s Office for voter registration, unless the new
driver specifically asks the department not to do so, said department
spokeswoman Shevondah Leslie.
If drivers meet the state’s requirements, the county board of elections
automatically registers new residents to vote. How soon that would take
place is not clear.
A sudden influx of new residents could have some impact on what are
expected to be close Senate runoff elections.
Meanwhile, the presidential election in Georgia is likely headed to a
recount, with President-elect Joe Biden currently ahead of President
Trump by about 10,000 votes out of almost 5 million cast. If Mr. Biden
were to be declared the winner here, he would be the first Democratic
presidential candidate to carry Georgia since 1992. An influx of new
residents wouldn't influence the recount.
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that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
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