GOOD AFTERNOON from the Capitol, where the fireworks are about to begin and the pro-Trump MAGA protests have already started. Congress will kick off a joint session on the House floor at 1 p.m. — with VP MIKE PENCE presiding — to formally certify President-elect JOE BIDEN'S victory. We're expecting the drama to start early, with House and Senate Republicans planning to object to the electors from Arizona (and at least two other states, Georgia and Pennsylvania). SCOOP — One thing to watch: Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL and House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY are both planning to make speeches — on opposite sides of the debate. McCarthy has stayed mum about his position publicly, trying to not look like he's putting his thumb on the scales. |
McCarthy, however, is determined to maintain unity in the conference despite divisions about how to proceed: He has advised lawmakers not to support primary challengers against each other over this issue, sources say. But tensions are no doubt brewing in the GOP. And what happened in Georgia last night certainly didn't make things any better. OF COURSE, THE REAL ACTION everyone in the Capitol is talking about right now is on the other side of the building, where Democrats are on the verge of winning back the Senate with the slimmest possible margin — a massive upset that will completely upend Hill dynamics for the next two years. How happy are Democrats, you ask? Well, House Majority Leader STENY HOYER blasted "Georgia on My Mind" from his iPhone during a Zoom call this morning. "When we say good morning, it really is one today," Speaker NANCY PELOSI said on the conference call. And Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER and Pelosi — who are poised to be the top congressional leaders for the next two years — have already talked this morning to start plotting their Democratic takeover. More from Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle — "GOP fears Electoral College challenge will 'come back to haunt' it," by David Siders: "[T]he entire episode may make a powerful argument for abandoning the institution that makes Republicans competitive in presidential elections in the first place — the Electoral College. … Given the stakes, inadvertently delegitimizing the Electoral College would seem counterintuitive. To some Republicans, it's nuts." MEANWHILE, THOUSANDS of pro-Trump protesters are on the streets of D.C. today. Live updates from WaPo |
GEORGIA FALLOUT — "Biden gets to dream bigger with likely Democratic victories in Georgia," by Tyler Pager, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Cassella: "The dual victories do not affect Biden's core focus, aides and allies say, which remains tackling the coronavirus, ramping up vaccine distribution and managing the economic fallout from the pandemic. "But funding for those efforts can now likely move more quickly through Congress and on a larger scale, the Democrats say. Specific party priorities, including larger stimulus checks and federal aid for state and local governments struggling to balance their budgets, also now have a shot at being included in another round of coronavirus relief legislation." — TO WIT: SCHUMER said this morning that one of his first priorities is $2,000 checks. — BIDEN put out a statement this morning that said, in part: "Georgia's voters delivered a resounding message yesterday: they want action on the crises we face and they want it right now. … I'm pleased that we will be able to work with Speaker Pelosi and a Majority Leader Schumer. But I'm also just as determined today as I was yesterday to try to work with people in both parties … "After the past four years, after the election, and after today's election certification proceedings on the Hill, it's time to turn the page. The American people demand action and they want unity. I am more optimistic than I ever have been that we can deliver both." — Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) called for the results to usher in a "new era of bipartisanship." — PBS NewsHour's YAMICHE ALCINDOR (@Yamiche): "Gabriel Sterling: President Trump spent more attacking Gov Kemp and Secretary Raffensperger than he did Raphael Warnock and 'Senator to be, probably, Ossoff.' He adds: 'It irritates me.' He also said Ossoff will likely have a win with a margin that will avoid a recount." THE POSTMORTEMS … "How Raphael Warnock fused Old and New South to win Georgia," by Maya King and Teresa Wiltz: "Warnock's win is, ultimately, a tale of two Souths: the racial apartheid of the Jim Crow era South, post Reconstruction, where until just 55 years ago, the Black vote was poll taxed out of existence when it wasn't crushed entirely, limited to a scant few. But out of that oppression, Black political power grew, despite grandfather clauses, property tests, secret ballots and impossible literacy exams. And that political power was firmly rooted in the Black church from whence Warnock sprang — specifically, Ebenezer Baptist Church, the storied congregation where Martin Luther King, Jr. was raised. "And Warnock's victory, too, is a tale of the New South, where demographics are determining destiny, where there are more New Yorkers moving to greater Atlanta than from anywhere else, where Hollywood has set up shop, where wealthy Republican suburbs flipped blue and where the immigrant population jumped 84 percent in the past decade. Warnock, 51, who grew up in Savannah public housing, post civil rights, in the early days of hip-hop, straddles both Souths." — WOOF … @jaketapper: "Knives out! Another GOP strategist says that NRSC polling looked good until last week when Hawley announced his challenge, and the focus turned to overturning the election instead of being a check on the Dems." |
OH … @stevenmnuchin1: "On my way to Israel now for important meetings…" HEADS UP — "Chilling threat sent to air traffic controllers vowing revenge for killing of Iranian general is under investigation," CBS: "Multiple air traffic controllers in New York heard a chilling threat Monday in audio obtained exclusively by CBS News: 'We are flying a plane into the Capitol on Wednesday. Soleimani will be avenged.' … "It's unclear who sent the threat. While the government does not believe the warning of an attack is credible, it is being investigated as a breach of aviation frequencies, CBS News has learned." SCOTUS WATCH — "Liberals to Breyer: Time to retire," by Alex Thompson: "Demand Justice, the group founded in 2018 as a progressive response to conservative organizing around the courts, praised Breyer in a statement to POLITICO but encouraged him to make way for a younger liberal replacement and to do it early in Joe Biden's first term." THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — "Gig-Economy Companies Get Worker Flexibility From Trump Administration," WSJ: "The Labor Department in a final rule released on Wednesday would likely make it more difficult for a gig worker, such as an Uber or DoorDash driver, to be counted as an employee under federal law. That means those workers wouldn't be covered by federal minimum-wage and overtime laws, and they could be responsible for paying the employer portion of Social Security taxes. "The rule won't go into effect until after President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. The Biden administration could seek to delay implementing the rule, give new enforcement guidance or seek to write a new version of the rule. The Biden administration could also opt to not defend the regulation should it be challenged in court." |
NASHVILLE LATEST — "More than a week later, FBI avoids terror label for bombing," AP: "The FBI investigation into whether the Nashville bombing was a terrorist act has sparked criticism about a possible racial double standard and drawn questions from downtown business owners whose insurance coverage could be affected by the bureau's assessment. "More than a week after an explosion that struck at the heart of a major American city, the FBI has resisted labeling it an act of terrorism, an indication that evidence gathered so far does not conclusively establish that the bomber was motivated by political ideology — a key factor in any formal declaration of terrorism." ACROSS THE POND — "British judge denies WikiLeaks' Julian Assange bail in extradition case, citing flight risk," WaPo OUR GOOF: We wrote this morning that 33-year-old Jon Ossoff would be the youngest senator elected since Joe Biden. He would be the youngest Democratic senator since Biden. Former Republican Sen. Don Nickles was 31 when he won his seat in 1980. |
