Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, has warned Congress that the rise in coronavirus cases could “prove challenging for the next few months” even as encouraging news on vaccine development has boosted the outlook for the economy in the medium-term, the Financial Times reports.
The Fed chairman stressed that the economic outlook remained “extraordinarily uncertain” — a phrase he has used throughout the pandemic.
Stuart Rothenberg: “Republicans are already sounding as if they intend to make 2022 about socialism, illegal immigrants and anarchists in the suburbs. But if the economy is strong, COVID-19 is in the rear-view mirror and Biden is popular, the midterm election might well favor the status quo.”
“Though House Republicans have reasons for optimism, nothing is now guaranteed about the political landscape of 2022 — especially since a bitter, defeated Trump is likely to want the limelight during the next few years.”
“President Trump has raised about $170 million since Election Day as his campaign operation has continued to aggressively solicit donations with hyped-up appeals that have funded his fruitless attempts to overturn the election and that have seeded his post-presidential political ambitions,” the New York Times reports.
“Instead of slowing down after the election, Mr. Trump’s campaign has ratcheted up its volume of email solicitations for cash, telling supporters that money was needed for an ‘Election Defense Fund.’ In reality, the fine print shows that the first 75 percent of every contribution currently goes to a new political action committee that Mr. Trump set up in mid-November, Save America, which can be used to fund his political activities going forward, including staff and travel. The other 25 percent of each donation is directed to the Republican National Committee.”
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Playbook: “It’s too early to declare Tanden’s nomination to be the director of OMB dead, but man, is she taking a lot of incoming. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said Tanden is ‘radioactive,’ and said it was a ‘misstep’ by the Biden team to plan to nominate her. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) — the No. 2 Senate Republican — said she’s been very ‘partisan’ in her assessment of Republican senators, who will now have to vote for her. “I’m not, you know, disqualifying anybody, but I do think that it gets a lot harder obviously if they send folks from their, you know, progressive left that are kind of out of the mainstream. And, but, you know, if and when the time comes, we’ll obviously hopefully be able to consult with them and then, if they send people here that are qualified, give them a fair process.”
“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — the likely chair of the Budget Committee should Republicans keep the majority — suggested that Tanden may not even get a committee vote.”
Politico: Bernieworld seethes over Tanden.
Washington Post: “While many public health professionals have asked Americans not to congregate in large group settings and avoid travel over the holidays because of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 266,000 Americans and infected 13 million more, the White House is expected to throw more than a dozen indoor parties, including a large congressional ball on Dec. 10, officials say.”
“The parties will be paid for by the Republican Party, a person with knowledge of the planning said, and will cost millions of dollars.”
“The president and the first lady are determined to have a final holiday season in the White House, officials said, and concerns about spiking cases and deaths across the country have not stopped the events. Many of the administration’s supporters have taken a skeptical view of the restrictions over the virus and are choosing to attend.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told party donors during recent calls that the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the fact that Cal Cunningham “couldn’t keep his zipper up” crushed Democrats’ chances of regaining the Senate, Axios reports.
“During a recent donor call, the minority leader lamented being unable to successfully recruit Stacey Abrams to run for a Senate seat in Georgia.”
“White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has summoned FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn to the West Wing for a 9:30am meeting Tuesday to explain why he hasn’t moved faster to approve the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine,” Axios reports.
Hahn issued a preemptive statement: “Let me be clear — our career scientists have to make the decision and they will take the time that’s needed to make the right call on this important decision.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity called for President Trump to pardon himself and his family prior to leaving the White House on January 20.
Said Hannity; “The president out the door needs to pardon his whole family and himself, because they want this witch hunt to go on in perpetuity. They’re so full of rage and insanity against the president… I assume that the power of the pardon is absolute, and that he should be able to pardon anybody that he wants to.”
“Despite what President Trump is tweeting and saying publicly in the wake of Arizona and Wisconsin certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory Monday, Trump sees the scoreboard and understands he has no chance of hanging on to the presidency,” CNN reports.
Asked whether the President realizes that he’s been defeated, a close adviser who has been in contact with Trump said: “Yes, he does.”
“President Trump’s political operation has raised more than $150 million since Election Day, using a blizzard of misleading appeals about the election to shatter fundraising records set during the campaign,” the Washington Post reports.
“The influx of political donations is one reason Trump and some allies are inclined to continue a legal onslaught and public affairs blitz focused on baseless claims of election fraud, even as their attempts have repeatedly failed in court and as key states continue to certify wins for President-elect Joe Biden.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told CNN that President Trump should concede the White House race to President-elect Joe Biden.
Said Murkowski: “I think he should concede. I think the race is over.”
“President Trump’s sustained assault on his own party in Georgia, and his repeated claims of election fraud in the state, have intensified worries among Republicans that he could be hurting their ability to win two crucial Senate runoff races next month,” the New York Times reports.
“The president has continued to claim without evidence that his loss in the new battleground state was fraudulent, directing his ire in particular at Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both conservative Republicans, whom he has accused of not doing enough to help him overturn the result.”
Politico: Republicans to Trump: Georgia fraud claims could cost us the Senate.
President Trump’s campaign lawyer and former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova said that fired Trump cybersecurity chief Chris Krebs should be executed for saying that the election was the “most secure in United States history,” The Bulwark reports.
Said DiGenova: “Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity for Trump. That guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.”
“President Trump’s pardon of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, includes an extremely broad reprieve from any possible crimes he might have committed connected to special counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election,” Politico reports.
Trump’s pardon absolves Flynn of “any and all possible offenses” arising from Mueller’s investigation, as well as any related grand jury proceedings.
Dr. Scott Atlas, President Trump’s special adviser on the coronavirus pandemic, formally resigned from his post on Monday, Fox News reports.
Back in July, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) told reporters he changed his White House ringtone to “Hail to The Chief” so he wouldn’t miss a call from President Trump.
Guess who called while Ducey was certifying Arizona’s election for Joe Biden?
Cook Political Report: “There have only been three federal elections in the last 100 years decided by fewer than 20 votes… But in an insult to injury for House Democrats, who have already lost a dozen incumbents to the GOP, Democrats are currently trailing by a scant six votes in Iowa’s 2nd CD and 12 votes in New York’s 22nd CD as both races head for lengthy legal fights.”
“The margins are infinitesimal but could make a huge difference in how the House operates. These two races will likely decide whether Democrats have a 222 or 224 seat majority and whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi can afford four, five or six defections and still pass legislation. There’s a third race yet to be called in California’s 25th CD, but GOP Rep. Mike Garcia holds a 405 vote lead that seems likely to hold.”
Washington Post: “In the three weeks before Nov. 3, the Trump campaign sent out 365 emails… In the three weeks that followed, from Nov. 4 to 24, the campaign sent out 354. Amazingly, it sent out more emails in the week after the election than the week before.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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