Archives for 2020

Washington Post: “A joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 will take the last step in formalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, and Pence, in his role as president of the Senate, will preside over the session after four years of ceaseless efforts to demonstrate his loyalty to Trump.”

“Some die-hard Trump supporters are declaring that Pence will be a traitor if he does not somehow derail the proceedings. There is no evident way for him to do that even if he wanted to, but such demands ratchet up the pressure on Pence, who is unlikely to escape their wrath — or Trump’s.”

“Pence is hoping for a low-key Jan. 6 and is not planning any unnecessary drama, aides said, intending to stick to his perfunctory role. He is eyeing a trip overseas soon after.”

“Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock shattered fundraising records by hauling in more than $100 million each in the past two months, significantly outraising GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the final stretch of the two Georgia Senate races that will decide control of the chamber next month,” Politico reports.

“The massive fundraising for the two Democrats was driven largely by small-dollar donations, continuing the pattern this year of the party’s Senate candidates tapping into online donors across the country to fund their challenger campaigns, although Democrats underperformed expectations in November despite the fundraising edge.”

“President Trump has instructed his top political advisers to begin monitoring potential 2022 GOP primary targets, as he lashes out at fellow Republicans whom he deems disloyal,” Politico reports.

“With less than a month until Trump leaves office, his team has begun mapping out what his post-White House political infrastructure will look like. Until now, the planning has centered on deploying resources to defeat Democrats in midterm races. But advisers are now also keeping tabs on Republican incumbents.”

“Trump in recent weeks has used his Twitter feed to attack Republicans for failing to get behind his unfounded claims the election was stolen with him. But his team is now taking more formal steps — such as tracking their public comments — with an eye toward possibly marshaling the president’s political operation to replace them with more Trump-friendly figures.”