Andrew Gillum (D) tweeted “you sound nervous” at President Trump after the president called for an end to the recounts in Florida.
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Defeated GOP Lawmaker Blames McCain for Loss of House
Rep. Jason Lewis (R-MN), who was unseated in last week’s election, writes in the Wall Street Journal that former Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is to blame for the GOP’s loss of the House majority since it was McCain’s decisive vote against legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare that led to so many Democratic midterm victories.
Lewis writes that the failed Senate vote allowed Democrats to campaign against Republicans with the claim that the GOP wanted to remove protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
Quote of the Day
“Trump’s European Vacation was as bad as the movie. He wimped out of honoring our fallen troops because of a misting. He moped around in his hotel room and insulted fire victims. And he was scorched by the French President. This is not winning. This is a national embarrassment.”
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), on Twitter.
North Korea Missile Bases Suggest a Great Deception
“North Korea is moving ahead with its ballistic missile program at 16 hidden bases that have been identified in new commercial satellite images, a network long known to American intelligence agencies but left undiscussed as President Trump claims to have neutralized the North’s nuclear threat,” the New York Times reports.
“The satellite images suggest that the North has been engaged in a great deception: It has offered to dismantle a major launching site — a step it began, then halted — while continuing to make improvements at more than a dozen others that would bolster launches of conventional and nuclear warheads.”
Said Trump, just last week: “We are in no rush. The sanctions are on. The missiles have stopped. The rockets have stopped. The hostages are home.”
The Danger In Drawing Conclusions Too Early
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Trump Calls for Halting Florida Recount
President Trump “called for halting the just-launched recounts in the Florida races for Senate and governor, alleging without evidence that many ballots were missing and forged and that a valid tally was no longer possible,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!”
Democrats Prepare Their ‘Subpoena Cannon’
“House Democrats plan to probe every aspect of President Trump’s life and work, from family business dealings to the Space Force to his tax returns to possible ‘leverage’ by Russia,” top Democrats tell Mike Allen.
“One senior Democratic source said the new majority, which takes power in January, is preparing a ‘subpoena cannon,’ like an arena T-shirt cannon.”
Axios has assembled a list of at least 85 potential Trump-related investigation and subpoena targets for the new majority.
House Will Probe Trump’s Hush Money Payments
“The House Oversight Committee plans to investigate Donald Trump’s involvement in hush payments made to women during the 2016 presidential campaign,” ABC News reports.
“When the Democrats take control of the House in January and gain subpoena power, they plan to probe the president’s role in payments to two women who alleged during the 2016 campaign that they had affairs with Trump, according to the aide.”
House Democrats Will Move First on Health Care
New York Times: “House Democrats plan to hold early votes on proposals to protect people with pre-existing medical conditions, an issue they continually emphasized in midterm races. The votes will test campaign promises by Republicans who declared their support for such protections.”
“Democrats will push for the House to intervene in a lawsuit in which 20 states, with support from the Trump administration, are challenging provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including the protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”
“If the states’ lawsuit succeeds, legislation to shore up the health care law and coverage for people with pre-existing conditions could become a priority for Congress.”
Democrats Face Shortage of Operatives for 2020
Politico: “With a sprawling field of expected candidates and a limited pool of high-caliber operatives, a sprint is on among 2020 Democratic hopefuls for campaign managers, strategists, finance directors and field directors who can run a presidential campaign.”
Understated Trump Still at Center of World’s Attention
President Trump “likes to throw Twitter bombs that explode in concentric circles of offensiveness. He delivers speeches that contain insults and falsehoods. He announces policies on a whim, some constitutionally questionable,” the Washington Post reports.
“But on a trip to Europe, the president hardly said a word — and he still managed to outrage at almost every turn. Aside from a critical tweet aimed at French President Emmanuel Macron when Trump landed in Paris late Friday — one based on an inaccurate newspaper summary of an interview Macron gave suggesting that he had called the United States a threat — Trump didn’t throw any sharp elbows at his peers here.”
“It was still all about him. In this case, it was because of the images. He looked uncomfortable and listless in a bilateral meeting with Macron, whose sinewy energy stood in stark contrast to Trump’s downbeat expression as the French leader patted him on the thigh.”
Whitaker Says He Won’t Starve Mueller Probe of Funds
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has” told associates that the Justice Department under his leadership won’t cut the budget for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference,” Bloomberg reports.
“It’s a signal that some of the worst fears that critics have about Whitaker’s potential to interfere with Mueller’s probe won’t come true in the immediate aftermath of the former DOJ chief of staff being chosen to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions.”
No One Seems Willing to Run Against Pelosi
“The House Democratic rebels trying to keep Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker have a big problem: They can’t seem to find someone to run against her,” Politico reports.
“The naysayers claim they have the 15 to 20 votes it would take to block Pelosi on the House floor. But so far, no one’s stepped up as an alternative, and it’s unclear who might. Also unknown is whether that person would have a prayer against the experienced Pelosi, as flawed as her detractors say she is.”
Playbook: “The internal House Democratic election is not until after Thanksgiving. Pelosi only needs half of the caucus then. The floor vote for speaker is Jan. 3 — 52 days from now.”
Congress Braces for High-Drama Lame Duck
“Congress is returning to Washington this week for an end-of-the-year session that’s expected to be filled with high-stakes legislative flights and plenty of drama,” The Hill reports.
“Lawmakers will be forced to juggle several crucial deadlines on must-pass pieces of legislation and unravel thorny policy fights, while also navigating political battles over leadership and a potential Cabinet shakeup.”
“Both chambers are set to be in session for approximately four weeks once they reconvene on Tuesday, giving lawmakers little room for error as they race to wrap up their work for this session of Congress.”
GOP Desperate to Match Democrats’ Fundraising
“Mitch McConnell stood before a roomful of Republican donors on Wednesday night to thank them for their help in the midterms. But the Senate leader also issued a dire warning: Democrats had just thumped them in the all-important online donor game, and the GOP badly needs to catch up,” Politico reports.
“The heart of the problem, McConnell said at the event at party headquarters on Capitol Hill, is ActBlue. The Democratic fundraising tool funneled over $700 million in small donations to House and Senate candidates over the course of the 2018 campaign. The GOP leader said Republicans were getting swamped in the hunt for online givers and that he’d charged his political team with coming up with a solution to enable them to compete in 2020.”
Democrats Signal Aggressive Investigations
“Fresh off a resounding midterm elections victory, House Democrats on Sunday began detailing plans to wield their newfound oversight power in the next Congress, setting their sights on acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker while rebuffing calls from some liberals to pursue impeachment proceedings against President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
”The moves signal that House Democrats, while wary of the risks of alienating voters who backed the president, are fully embracing their midterm victory last week as a mandate to dig deep into the actions of the executive branch.”
Most Democrats Think Republicans Are Racist, Sexist
A new Axios/Survey Monkey poll finds 61% of Democrats see Republicans as “racist/bigoted/sexist.”
Meanwhil, 31% of Republicans say they view Democrats in the same light.
”If Americans are this convinced that the other side isn’t just wrong, but dumb and evil, they’ll never be able to find enough common ground to solve real problems. And they’re more likely to elect leaders who can’t do it, either.”
Trump Was Very Happy to See Putin
President Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin “shared an oddly warm greeting Sunday when the two took part in a ceremony in Paris marking 100 years since the end of World War I. The two leaders arrived separately from the more than 60 heads of state who took part in the commemorations and when Putin showed up it seems clear Trump was happy to see him,” Slate reports.
“A photo that quickly went viral and many said was surprisingly telling, shows Trump flashing a big smile when he sees Putin, whereas France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Angela Merkel look at him much more sternly.”
The Guardian: “Trump looked on grimly throughout. The only moment he brightened up was when he saw Vladimir Putin approach. He flashed a goofy smile, all the more noticeable alongside Macron and Merkel who had switched their demeanour to steel resolve on spotting the Russian leader.”
