Kari Paul here, logging off for the night! Here is the top news of the evening to keep in mind as we go into the weekend. Stay safe and stay negative, y’all!
- Republican Martha McSally officially conceded the Arizona Senate race to Democratic opponent Mark Kelly.
- Congressional Democrats changed plans for an indoor dinner to be takeaway meals after backlash over coronavirus hypocrisy.
- Gavin Newsom is also in hot water for attending a dinner with people outside his household. He apologized on Friday.
- Nevada’s governor has tested positive for Covid-19. He is the fifth governor in the US to test positive.
- New York attorney general Leticia James has pledged to sue the Trump administration if it vindictively withholds a Covid vaccine.
New York attorney general poised to sue the Trump administration if it delays the state’s access to vaccines
After Donald Trump in a press conference on Friday alluded to withholding a Covid-19 vaccine from New York while distributing it to the rest of the US, the state’s attorney general has threatened to sue.
“This is nothing more than vindictive behavior by a lame-duck president trying to extract [sic] vengeance on those who oppose his politics,” New York attorney general Letitia James said in a statement.
Trump’s statements come after an ongoing battle of passive aggressive public statements between him and New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who called Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic “the worst failure since Pearl Harbor”. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, state governors have complained of fears that speaking negatively of Trump would result in the president withholding Covid supplies.
“Once there is a fully-developed Covid-19 vaccine, we are confident that a Biden-Harris Administration will provide New York with the proper number of doses so that our state’s residents can achieve immunity,” James said. “If dissemination of the vaccine takes place in the twilight of a Trump Administration and the president wants to play games with people’s lives, we will sue and we will win.”
Updated
Nevada governor tests positive for Covid-19
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said on Friday he has tested positive for Covid-19, as the number of people infected with the virus soars to record highs in the state and across the US.
Sisolak, a Democrat, is the fifth governor in the US to report testing positive for the virus, after two Republicans in Missouri and Oklahoma, and one Democrat in Virginia.
Ohio’s Republican governor Mike DeWine tested positive in August but received a negative test a few hours later. DeWine tested positive using a rapid test before testing negative later that day after using a more sensitive laboratory-developed test.
Sisolak said on a call with reporters he was not yet experiencing symptoms and that the positive results came from a routine test on Friday morning. He is the third person in his office to test positive for the virus.
Last week, the governor’s office announced an unnamed Carson City-based staffer who had not been in close contact with Sisolak but had tested positive for the virus. In early October, Sisolak’s Covid-19 response director Caleb Cage also tested positive.
“I’m a little tired, but I’ve been tired since March when we started fighting Covid,” Sisolak said. “I think this just puts a spotlight on the fact that you can take all the precautions that are possible and you can still contract the virus. I don’t know how I got it, but we’re going to quarantine and get through it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Updated
Gavin Newsom apologizes for attending a party as Covid numbers rise
In another example of politicians being roasted for not practicing what they preach, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has been forced to apologize after attending an outdoor dinner party last week.
Newsom acknowledged Friday he should have skipped the birthday party, which took place at an upscale Napa Valley restaurant, as coronavirus numbers soar in the state.
“While our family followed the restaurant’s health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner,” Newsom said in a statement.
The dinner came just as Newsom’s administration announced new guidelines urging people not to attend events with people outside their households, and as California hit a grim new Covid milestone of 1m infections.
His staff had confirmed his attendance at the “intimate” outdoor event.
“The restaurant was open for normal dining, consistent with state and county health guidance,” his spokeswoman said. “All of the restaurant safety protocols were adhered to – and the guests followed those protocols.”
Sacramento, where Newsom lives, was just assigned the state’s “purple tier” classification for Covid risk – the highest on the risk scale. San Francisco was forced to shut down indoor dining as numbers once again went up this week.
Updated
Congressional dinner shifts to to-go meals after outrage
The dinner for new members of Congress being held by Democrats will be modified, shifting to a to-go food model, after outrage over an indoor meal, said Nancy Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill on Friday evening.
The change comes after hundreds slammed politicians for dining indoors while thousands of Americans struggle in quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic and as many cancel their Thanksgiving plans. Hammill reiterated what Pelosi said, which is that the dinner had been approved by the office of attending physician.
Still, the event has changed from a sit-down meal to one in which members-elect can pick up dinners to go in a socially distanced manner, Hammill said, “to be a further model for the nation”.
Some have said that does not go far enough and that the dinner should be cancelled entirely.
Updated
Pelosi and other Congress members slammed for holding indoor dinner during pandemic
Congress members are being hit with intense blowback for holding indoor banquets as the coronavirus pandemic worsens and health experts advise Americans against social gatherings.
Both Republicans and Democrats will be holding respective dinners for new members of Congress, reports Leigh Ann Caldwell at NBC News.
House Dem and GOP leaders are holding respective dinners for new members.
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) November 13, 2020
.@SpeakerPelosi told me it’s safe. “It’s very spaced,” she said and there is enhanced ventilation and the Capitol physician signed off. pic.twitter.com/ZXjf72lnrP
House speaker Nancy Pelosi told Caldwell a Capitol physician approved the “spaced” out gathering and will be “enhanced ventilation” in the building.
This comes as experts urge Americans not to travel or eat indoors with anyone outside their immediate households. Many people are cancelling or altering Thanksgiving plans as Covid-19 infections reach unprecedented new highs.
Cancel this event, @SpeakerPelosi — it sets a deadly example while COVID is the worst it's ever been. https://t.co/7HTzFVlhBg
— Dr. Jack Brown (@DrGJackBrown) November 13, 2020
Imagine telling families not to hold Thanksgiving (we shouldn’t) and then doing this. Come. On. https://t.co/ws9k2QDBLU
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) November 13, 2020
In Pelosi’s home state of California, governor Gavin Newsom has advised people to refrain from flying and many cities are shutting down all indoor dining.
California, among other states, is begging people not to travel for Thanksgiving, and counties — including Pelosi's district — are shutting down all indoor dining.
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) November 13, 2020
This needs to be moved outside, at least. Even if it can be made safe indoors, it's a terrible example. https://t.co/2nabkx5QpZ
Republican politicians and others accused the Democrats of hypocrisy given their demands on the average American to restrict meals and gatherings.
“Please cancel these in-person dinners to keep everyone safe from #covid19 - yourselves, your new members, servers, the Capitol police and all of their families and contacts,” said Chelsea Clinton in a tweet. “And, to show public health leadership”.
Republican Martha McSally finally concedes Arizona Senate seat to incoming Democrat Mark Kelly
A week after being declared the loser in the Arizona race for US Senate, Republican Martha McSally has conceded to Democrat Mark Kelly.
McSally held out until Friday the numbers showed it was mathematically impossible for her to catch up to Kelly. The concession marks the end of a contentious race to fill the seat left by John McCain, the Republican senator who died in 2018. McSally had been appointed his seat in 2019 January, which she called “an absolute honor”.
“With nearly all the votes counted, I called Mark Kelly this morning to congratulate him on winning this race,” she said in a statement. “I also offered support in his transition to ensure Arizonans are best served during this time. I wish him all the best.”
The Associated Press had called the race on election night, 4 November, just hours after the polls closed. McSally did not concede, publicly or in private directly to Kelly since then. Kelly ran on a relatively centrist platform, questioning McSally’s alliances with Donald Trump and the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.
His main campaign issues included healthcare and Trump’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic. Kelly is married to Gabrielle Giffords, who previously represented the Tucson area in Congress before resigning after being injured in a 2011 mass shooting. The couple went on to co-found a gun control organization and Kelly, a former astronaut, entered into politics.
Updated
Kari Paul here, taking over the blog for the next few hours. Stay tuned for updates.
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague Kari Paul will take over for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Donald Trump peddled false claims about coronavirus and attacked New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, during a Rose Garden event. The president praised his administration’s work to help accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine, but he did not take questions from reporters and did not acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
- The US set another single-day record for new coronavirus infections. According to Johns Hopkins University, the US confirmed 153,496 new cases yesterday, and 919 Americans died of coronavirus.
- Federal and state officials said the election was “the most secure in American history”, even as Trump continued to spread baseless claims of massive fraud. A group of election officials said in a statement released last night, “While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too.”
- The Trump campaign suffered more legal setbacks, as it withdrew from a lawsuit in Arizona and lost one of the law firms representing the president in Pennsylvania. A Michigan judge also dismissed Republicans’ effort to delay the state’s certification process, clearing the way for Biden to officially become the winner of the election when the electoral college convenes next month.
-
More than 130 Secret Service agents have contracted coronavirus or been asked to quarantine after Trump’s extensive campaign travel, according to the Washington Post. The president held dozens of large rallies in the final weeks before the election, raising concerns about the spread of coronavirus. Now, roughly 10% of the president’s core security team has been sidelined by the virus.
- The AP declared Trump to be the winner of North Carolina and its 15 electoral votes, bringing the president’s electoral vote total to 232. Biden’s total currently stands at 290 because the AP has not yet called Georgia, although other networks called the state for the president-elect today.
Kari will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
Trump concludes Rose Garden event without taking questions
Donald Trump has concluded his Rose Garden event without taking any questions from reporters.
As Trump left the Rose Garden, reporters shouted questions about whether he would concede the election, but he ignored them.
It has been six days since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election, and Trump has still not acknowledged his victory.
Speaking at the Rose Garden event, Mike Pence laid out an ambitious timeline for distributing a coronavirus vaccine.
“Before the year is out, we’ll be able to administer a vaccine to tens of millions of Americans,” the vice-president said.
Pence noted the vaccine would first be distributed to the most vulnerable Americans, such as seniors and frontline workers.
Donald Trump said at the beginning of the event that the administration expects a vaccine to be widely available to the American public by April, which is generally in line with what Dr Anthony Fauci has said.
At his Rose Garden event, Donald Trump has not yet recognized the alarming surge in coronavirus cases across the country.
Instead, Trump once again falsely claimed the high number of US cases is due to the country’s high level of testing, even though public health experts say new cases are far outpacing the elevated rate of testing.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the US confirmed 153,496 new cases yesterday, setting a new single-day record for the country.
Shortly before Trump’s event, Joe Biden released a statement saying the coronavirus crisis required “urgent action”.
“Our country is experiencing surges in reported infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities all over the country, with virtually nowhere getting spared,” the president-elect said.
Updated
Donald Trump seemed to be on the cusp of acknowledging Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election before backing off.
The president was discussing the possibility of a national lockdown, and he seemed ready to say he hoped Biden would not approve a lockdown.
Instead, Trump appeared to catch himself and instead said: “This administration will not be going to a lockdown.”
Trump seems to be on the cusp of saying "the Biden administration," but catches himself and says "time will tell" pic.twitter.com/6QaZV9TFOq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 13, 2020
Updated
During his Rose Garden event, Donald Trump repeated his false claim that the US has the highest number of coronavirus cases because it tests more than any other country.
In reality, public health experts say the surge in coronavirus cases is far outpacing the rate of increased testing in the US.
Trump said a coronavirus vaccine would be widely available to the American public starting in April.
“As soon as April, the vaccine will be available to the entire general population,” Trump said.
However, the president said the vaccine would not be available to residents of New York, accusing the Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, of playing politics.
“We won’t be delivering it to New York until we have authorization to do so,” Trump said.
Updated
Trump delivers update on Operation Warp Speed
Donald Trump has appeared at the podium in the White House Rose Garden to deliver an update on Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s effort to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
The president said Operation Warp Speed was “unequaled and unrivaled anywhere in the world”, claiming foreign leaders have called to congratulate him on the project.
Trump credited Operation Warp Speed with the news, announced earlier this week, that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is 90% effective.
Pfizer executives said the company was not involved in Operation Warp Speed and did not receive federal money for its vaccine, but Trump said that was an “unfortunate misrepresentation”.
A Pfizer spokesperson said the company was part of Operation Warp Speed as a supplier of a potential vaccine, but the company did not receive federal money to help develop its vaccine, unlike Moderna and AstraZeneca.
Updated
Joe Biden’s transition team said the president-elect also spoke to the Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, this afternoon.
“The president-elect thanked Prime Minister Conte for his congratulations, conveying his commitment to strengthen relations with Italy and revitalize the trans-Atlantic relationship, including through Nato and the EU,” the Biden team said in a readout of the call.
“The president-elect told Prime Minister Conte that he looks forward to working together during Italy’s chairmanship of the G20 next year. He also welcomed the opportunity to cooperate on a range of shared interests, including containing Covid-19 and improving global health security, pursuing a sustainable economic recovery and tackling the threat of climate change.”
Biden has spoken to a number of world leader since being declared the winner of the presidential race on Saturday.
Updated
Biden says coronavirus surge requires 'urgent action'
Joe Biden has released a statement expressing serious concern about the latest numbers of new coronavirus infections in the US.
“Our country is experiencing surges in reported infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities all over the country, with virtually nowhere getting spared,” the president-elect said after a meeting with his coronavirus advisory board.
“Our doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers are under enormous – and growing – strain. This week’s news on progress toward a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine is positive, but it will be many months before there is widespread vaccination in this country.”
Biden pledged to take action to help the country address this crisis after he is sworn in on 20 January, but the Democrat argued steps needed to be taken now to help Americans struggling because of the pandemic.
“This crisis demands a robust and immediate federal response, which has been woefully lacking,” Biden said. “Urgent action is needed today, now, by the current administration – starting with an acknowledgment of how serious the current situation is.”
Biden closed the statement by urging Americans to take every possible precaution to limit the spread of coronavirus.
“Today, I renew my call for every American, regardless of where they live or who they voted for, to step up and do their part on social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing to protect themselves and to protect others,” Biden said.
Updated
Trump wins North Carolina
The AP has declared Donald Trump to be the winner of North Carolina and its 15 electoral votes.
Trump leads Joe Biden in North Carolina by about 74,000 votes, or 1.3% of the state’s total vote.
BREAKING: Donald Trump wins North Carolina. #APracecall at 3:48 p.m. EST. #Election2020 https://t.co/lGfinjTqT4
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 13, 2020
The North Carolina win brings the president’s electoral vote total to 232, well short of the 270 needed to win the White House.
Other outlets have already called Georgia for Biden, but the AP has not yet made a call in the state, which is currently conducting a hand recount of its presidential results.
If Biden does win Georgia, the final electoral vote tally will be 306 for Biden and 232 for Trump.
Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge he lost Arizona in a new tweet, blaming the result on a voting software system, while presenting no evidence that ballots were tabulated incorrectly.
“Now it is learned that the horrendous Dominion Voting System was used in Arizona (and big in Nevada). No wonder the result was a very close loss!” Trump said.
Now it is learned that the horrendous Dominion Voting System was used in Arizona (and big in Nevada). No wonder the result was a very close loss!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2020
The AP and Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden on election night, and other networks called the state last night. As of now, Biden leads Trump in Arizona by about 11,000 votes.
It’s unclear whether this acknowledgement could clear the way for Trump conceding that he lost the presidential election.
Some of his advisers, including the press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and trade adviser Peter Navarro, continued to insist today that Trump could still win the election, even though every major news outlet has called the race for Biden.
Updated
Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania’s secretary of state, said she would not order a recount of results in the state because no statewide race was determined by 0.5 points or less.
The Pennsylvania department of state said in a statement: “Based on the unofficial returns submitted by all the counties to the Department of State, Secretary Boockvar has determined that she will not be ordering a recount and recanvass of the election returns in the counties, as no statewide candidate was defeated by one-half of one percent or less of the votes cast.”
The AP called Pennsylvania for Joe Biden on Saturday, and the president-elect currently leads Donald Trump in the state by about 63,000 votes.
The Trump campaign continues to pursue legal action in Pennsylvania, but those efforts seem unlikely to prevent state officials from soon certifying Biden’s victory.
Updated
The governor of Oregon has announced a two-week “freeze” for the entire state, in an attempt to get the spread of coronavirus under control.
Democratic Governor Kate Brown said the freeze would begin on November 18 and last through December 2.
Oregon’s new restrictions include limiting indoor gatherings to six people, limiting restaurants and bars to takeout only and closing gyms and recreational facilities.
The news comes as other states and cities have rolled out new restrictions amid a national surge in coronavirus infections.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the US confirmed 153,496 new cases yesterday, setting a new single-day record for the country.
Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush, a Democrat of Missouri, attended new member orientation today wearing a mask with Breonna Taylor’s name on it.
Bush said some of her Republican colleagues mistakenly thought her name was Breonna Taylor because they were apparently unaware of Taylor’s story.
It’s Day One, so I’m wearing my “Breonna Taylor” mask.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) November 13, 2020
A few of my Republican colleagues have called me Breonna, assuming that’s my name.
It hurts. But I’m glad they’ll come to know her name & story because of my presence here.
Breonna must be central to our work in Congress.
“It hurts. But I’m glad they’ll come to know her name & story because of my presence here,” Bush said in a tweet. “Breonna must be central to our work in Congress.”
Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers during a botched narcotics raid in March.
If the AP confirms Joe Biden did indeed win 306 electoral votes, the president-elect will have exactly matched the number of electoral votes that Donald Trump won on election day 2016.
Trump has repeatedly described his electoral college victory in 2016 as a “landslide”.
It’s worth noting that, while Trump won the electoral college but lost the popular vote in 2016, Biden has won the electoral college and currently leads in the popular vote by more than 5m votes.
Updated
A number of networks – including CNN, NBC News and CBS News – are now calling the state of Georgia for Joe Biden and the state of North Carolina for Donald Trump.
CNN PROJECTION: President-elect Joe Biden wins Georgia, flipping the traditionally red state, and Donald Trump wins North Carolina.
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 13, 2020
This brings the final electoral vote tally to 306 for Biden and 232 for Trump https://t.co/1uKLl0jyo2 #CNNElection pic.twitter.com/lCY1FHAzhZ
The Guardian is not yet calling Georgia or North Carolina because the AP has not yet declared a winner in either state.
As of now, Trump leads in North Carolina by about 74,000 votes, and he has been widely expected to carry the state since election night.
Georgia is much closer, with just 14,000 votes separating the two nominees, and the state is currently conducting a hand recount of all presidential votes in the state.
If Biden were to win Georgia, his final electoral vote count would be 306, well above the 270 needed to win the White House.
Updated
A Michigan judge has also rejected Republicans’ effort to delay the certification of results in the state.
President-elect Joe Biden currently leads Trump in Michigan by about 146,000 votes, or 2.7% of the total vote.
The Michigan decision is the latest in a string of legal losses for the Trump team, after the president’s lawyers withdrew from an Arizona lawsuit and a prominent law firm pulled out of the campaign’s lawsuit in Pennsylvania.
As expected, Trump is having a hard time trying to block states from certifying their results, clearing the way for Biden to be inaugurated in January.
Updated
Biden team criticizes GSA for refraining from certifying election win
The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss reports:
Top officials on president-elect Joe Biden’s transition team warned of the long-term national security consequences of federal officials continuing to refuse to recognize Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Specifically, Biden officials argued that the General Services Administration’s (GSA) ongoing refusal to certify Biden as the victor could harm the country.
After a presidential election, the GSA usually quickly acknowledges the victory and approves federal resources like funding and access to national security information to the incoming president and team.
But the GSA has refrained from giving the Biden team that rubber stamp, arguing it is not clear who the winner of the election is.
“It’s been six days, but with every day that passes, it becomes more concerning that our national security team and the president-elect and the vice-president elect don’t have access to threat assessments,” Jen Psaki, a senior adviser for the Biden transition team, said Friday during a briefing with reporters. “And in order to prepare to govern, it’s important that they have access to that information.”
Yohannes Abraham, another top transition official, added: “Lack of access to current classified operations or back-channel conversations that are happening really put the American peoples’ interests as it relates to national security at risk.”
Psaki acknowledged Biden would have an easier adjustment to the Oval Office after serving as vice-president, but she emphasized the importance of having access to intelligence briefings to prepare for the new administration.
Updated
Donald Trump suggested he may also appear at a rally of his supporters in Washington tomorrow.
“Heartwarming to see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Rallies that are springing up all over the Country, including a big one on Saturday in D.C. I may even try to stop by and say hello,” Trump said in a tweet, before once again repeating his baseless claim that the election was “rigged”.
Heartwarming to see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Rallies that are springing up all over the Country, including a big one on Saturday in D.C. I may even try to stop by and say hello. This Election was Rigged, from Dominion all the way up & down!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2020
Several pro-Trump groups have announced plans to rally in Washington tomorrow, in support of the president’s fact-free claims that the election was stolen from him.
The Washington Post has more details on the rally:
The events have been promoted by far-right media personalities, white nationalists and conspiracy theorists — several of whom announced plans to attend. Counterdemonstrations organized by anti-fascist and anti-racism groups are being planned nearby.
The rallies, which include a Women for Trump event, a ‘Million MAGA March’ and a ‘Stop the Steal’ demonstration — which falsely asserts that voter fraud cost Trump the election — will begin Saturday morning in and around Freedom Plaza.
The pro-Trump rallies have garnered support from Fox News host Sean Hannity as well as more fringe figures, including Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys; self-described ‘American Nationalist’ and social media agitator Nicholas Fuentes; conservative provocateur Jack Posobiec, who promoted the ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theory tied to the 2016 shooting at D.C. pizzeria Comet Ping Pong; Scott Presler, a pro-Trump activist who works with anti-Muslim group ACT for America; and Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Updated
Trump to hold first press availability since losing election
The White House has just announced Donald Trump will speak in the Rose Garden at 4pm ET today, to deliver an update on Operation Warp Speed.
Trump received a briefing this afternoon on the program, which aims to help accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
This will mark the first time that Trump has publicly spoken to reporters since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential race on Saturday.
Since then, Trump has spent much of his time spreading baseless claims of election fraud over Twitter.
The president’s last press conference was eight days ago, when he appeared in the White House briefing room to air a stream of lies about the integrity of the election.
Trump lawyers withdraw lawsuit in Arizona
An update from Tom McCarthy, who wrote earlier on Friday about the Trump law firm withdrawing from a Pennsylvania case challenging the election.
Tom writes:
Separately, lawyers for the Trump campaign have withdrawn a lawsuit in Arizona, conceding that the case would not move enough votes to change the election result in the state. “Since the close of yesterday’s hearing, the tabulation of votes statewide has rendered unnecessary a judicial ruling as to the presidential electors,” Trump lawyer Kory Langhofer told an Arizona state court, in news first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Updated
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Federal and state officials praised the election as “the most secure in American history,” even as Donald Trump continued to spread baseless claims of massive fraud. A group of election officials said in a statement released last night: “While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too.”
-
More than 130 Secret Service agents have contracted coronavirus or been asked to quarantine after Trump’s extensive campaign travel, according to the Washington Post. The president held dozens of large rallies in the final weeks before the election, raising concerns about the spread of coronavirus. Now, roughly 10% of the president’s core security team has been sidelined by the virus.
- The US set another single-day record for new coronavirus infections. According to Johns Hopkins University, the US confirmed 153,496 new cases yesterday, and 919 Americans died of coronavirus.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany is keeping up the charade that the presidential race has not yet been called.
Asked during a Fox Business interview whether Donald Trump would attend the presidential inauguration in January, McEnany said that was “many steps away.”
WH Press Sec. Kayleigh McEnany, appearing on Fox Business as Trump Campaign Adviser, on whether Trump will attend President-elect Biden’s inauguration ceremony:
— The Recount (@therecount) November 13, 2020
“I think the president will attend his own inauguration.” pic.twitter.com/uHTDneIiXx
“President Trump believes he will be President Trump, have a second term, and litigation is the first step,” McEnany said.
When McEnany was pressed again on whether Trump would attend the inauguration, she replied, “I think the president will attend his own inauguration. He would have to be there, in fact.”
The blog is once again required to fact-check a Trump administration official on the reality of the election results. Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the presidential race by every major news outlet, and he will be sworn in at the January 20 inauguration.
The incoming Congress has two members who have voiced support for the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, and one of them is criticizing her colleagues for wearing masks to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Our first session of New Member Orientation covered COVID in Congress.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) November 13, 2020
Masks, masks, masks....
I proudly told my freshman class that masks are oppressive.
In GA, we work out, shop, go to restaurants, go to work, and school without masks.
My body, my choice.#FreeYourFace
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman-elect from Georgia, said in a tweet, “Our first session of New Member Orientation covered COVID in Congress. Masks, masks, masks.... I proudly told my freshman class that masks are oppressive.”
As a reminder, health experts have repeatedly urged Americans to wear masks to limit the spread of the virus, particularly now that cases are surging across the country.
Evidence has found that masks can help mitigate the spread of the virus from people who are asymptomatic or have not yet developed symptoms.
Asked yesterday about the two new Republican members who have expressed support for QAnon, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said, “The only thing I would ask for you in the press — these are new members. Give them an opportunity before you claim what you believe they have done and what they will do.”
Two people are dead and a third is missing after an apparent explosion in a maintenance building at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Connecticut.
VA secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement, “We received a report this morning that an explosion occurred at the West Haven campus of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System that resulted in two deaths in a non-patient care area.”
Wilkie said neither of the victims were patients and patient care was not affected by the explosion. “Our prayers are with the families of the victims of this explosion,” Wilkie said.
Firefighters described the accident as a “steam explosion,” and officials are investigating the cause of the explosion.
Contrary to a prior report, Dr Anthony Fauci is not participating in Donald Trump’s briefing on Operation Warp Speed this afternoon.
UPDATE: Fauci now tells me he participated in Operation Warp Speed meeting this AM, but wasn’t aware POTUS also getting a separate briefing in Oval & he is not in that one. (Notable WH didn’t invite Fauci to Trump’s only publicly announced COVID briefing since losing election).
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) November 13, 2020
The infectious disease expert said he instead took part in a morning meeting about Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s effort to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
This will be Trump’s first publicly announced coronavirus briefing since he lost the presidential election, and it comes as coronavirus cases hit record-high levels across the country.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was “proud” of holding a majority of the seats that Democrats won in 2018, many of which were in districts that Donald Trump won in 2016.
"Pres. Trump, to his credit, turned out a big vote," Speaker Pelosi says of last week's House elections, but adds, "we had a very deep victory two years ago."
— ABC News (@ABC) November 13, 2020
"Of the 40 seats that we won, 31 were in Trump districts...We saved most of those seats." https://t.co/VarISuV0mW pic.twitter.com/6OxEyescEu
“The fact is that President Trump, to his credit, turned out a big vote,” Pelosi said, acknowledging the slimmer Democratic majority in the House for the next Congress.
When asked about whether the smaller majority would affect her legislative agenda, Pelosi pointed to Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race to emphasize that Democrats would have a good amount of power come January.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi held a press conference on Capitol Hill to address her legislative priorities for the new Congress.
The Democratic speaker once again urged her Republican colleagues to accept the results of the presidential election so that Congress could focus on passing another coronavirus relief bill.
“The election is over,” Pelosi said. “Joe Biden is the president-elect.”
"The election is over. Joe Biden is the president-elect."
— ABC News (@ABC) November 13, 2020
Speaker Pelosi urges Republicans to accept election results and work on COVID relief: "The longer the Republicans keep up the charade, the further out of control the COVID crisis will spiral." https://t.co/cyoDUPfpou pic.twitter.com/xo6ph3aeQi
But there are no signs that negotiations between congressional Democratic leadership and the White House have resumed.
Asked about the Democratic members who lost their re-election races, Pelosi said she was “sad” to lose a number of colleagues, but she predicted some of them would run again. She also said some of them were looking to join the Biden administration.
When a reporter asked Pelosi if she took responsibility for the losses, Pelosi replied, “I take credit for winning the majority and holding the House.”
Updated
Donald Trump will soon receive a briefing on Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s effort to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, told CBS News that he would be participating in the briefing.
NEW: Dr. Fauci tells me he will be participating in Operation Warp Speed briefing today with President Trump - the only event on the President's public schedule, though its currently closed press. @CBSNews
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) November 13, 2020
Fauci said earlier this week that he had not spoken to the president since he was hospitalized with coronavirus last month.
In the final days of his presidential campaign, Trump toyed with the idea of firing Fauci, who has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.
Donald Trump is claiming credit for how secure the election was, while simultaneously pushing baseless claims of massive fraud in the race.
“For years the Dems have been preaching how unsafe and rigged our elections have been,” Trump said in a new tweet. “Now they are saying what a wonderful job the Trump Administration did in making 2020 the most secure election ever. Actually this is true, except for what the Democrats did. Rigged Election!”
For years the Dems have been preaching how unsafe and rigged our elections have been. Now they are saying what a wonderful job the Trump Administration did in making 2020 the most secure election ever. Actually this is true, except for what the Democrats did. Rigged Election!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2020
A group of federal, state and local election officials said in a statement released yesterday that last week’s election was “the most secure in American history”.
“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too,” the statement said. “When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”
So Trump is simultaneously requesting praise for the integrity of the election while also trying to cast doubt upon the integrity of the election.
Updated
Well, that’s a new one: Trump voters in Pennsylvania who have filed a lawsuit to stop the certification process in the state did not provide any evidence of election fraud.
Instead, they told the judge that they intend to present evidence to support that claim once they have obtained it.
I must say, I have never seen this before. Typically, you have evidence first and then file a lawsuit.
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) November 13, 2020
From the PA lawsuit filed by voters to stop certification⬇️ pic.twitter.com/vGZKUYukJ6
Generally, a successful lawsuit presents evidence to support its claims once it is filed, and promises to do so later seem unlikely to succeed.
The lawsuit comes as several of the Trump campaign’s lawsuits in battleground states have already been dismissed.
More than 130 Secret Service agents infected with coronavirus or quarantining - report
More than 130 Secret Service agents have reportedly contracted coronavirus or have been asked to quarantine after Donald Trump’s extensive campaign travel in the final weeks before the presidential election.
The Washington Post reports:
The spread of the coronavirus — which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency’s core security team — is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the situation. ...
Trump went on a travel blitz in the final stretch of the campaign, making five campaign stops on each of the last two days. On Nov. 2, Trump’s campaign schedule required five separate groups of Secret Service officers — each numbering 20 to several dozen — to travel to Fayetteville, N.C.; Scranton, Pa.; Traverse City, Mich.; and Kenosha and Grand Rapids, Wis.; to screen spectators and secure the perimeter around the president’s events. President-elect Joe Biden made two campaign stops that day that also required Secret Service protection, but in smaller numbers.
The agency is also examining whether some portion of the current infections are not travel-related, one government official said, but instead trace back to the site where many Secret Service officers report for duty each day: the White House.
The report comes as several of Trump’s closest advisers, including White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, have tested positive for coronavirus as well.
As Donald Trump refuses to concede that he lost the presidential election to Joe Biden, Jonathan Freedland and Richard Wolffe look back at how others around the president are responding:
The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss reports from Washington:
President-elect Joe Biden’s team is pressing forward with preparations to take over the federal government when his term starts despite virtually no help from Donald Trump’s outgoing administration.
Biden faces choices that will either please or anger the bickering wings of his party as leftists and centrists vie to set the direction of the incoming Democratic administration. The process also sends a clear message to the Republican party and Trump: Biden won and will be sitting in the White House come January.
“The truth is the Trump administration can file whatever it wants to the federal register, can do whatever executive orders it wants until noon on January 20th, and at that moment they can no longer do it and the Biden people get to stop whatever they had in the pipeline and put whatever they want in their own pipeline,” said Tevi Troy, who helped run the transition to the second Bush-Cheney term in 2004. Troy also authored Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump.
The Biden team, Troy added, “know the things they want to stop from happening and they’re just going to go do it”.
On Wednesday night Biden took his most significant step yet, naming Ron Klain, a longtime aide, as his chief of staff. The move underscored that even as Biden vows to fill out his administration with figures spanning all wings of the Democratic party, he also plans to include hands familiar with the conventional levers of Washington DC.
Some of Donald Trump’s advisers are under the (false) impression that the presidential election has not yet been called.
Speaking to Fox Business this morning, trade adviser Peter Navarro said, “We are moving forward here at the White House under the assumption that there will be a second Trump term.”
Navarro described reports of Joe Biden’s victory as an “immaculate deception”, adding, “We think he won that election, and any speculation about what Joe Biden might do I think is moot at this point.”
White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro: “We’re moving forward here at the White House under the assumption that there will be a second Trump term ... We have, what appears in some sense to be, an immaculate deception."
— The Recount (@therecount) November 13, 2020
(FWIW, there will not be a second Trump term.) pic.twitter.com/qiVfAyZ5G9
In case you missed it for the past six days: Biden has been declared the winner of the presidential election by every major news outlet.
States have already started certifying their results, and Biden will be officially named the winner of the election when the electoral college convenes next month. Biden will be inaugurated in January, and Trump will be a one-term president.
Anyone who says otherwise is denying reality.
Updated
US sets another single-day record with 153,496 cases
The number of coronavirus cases continues to surge across the US, with the country setting another single-day record for new cases yesterday.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the US confirmed 153,496 new cases yesterday, and 919 Americans died of coronavirus.
The alarming news comes as health experts warn the upcoming holiday season could intensify the spread of the virus, if Americans do not stay home.
This is what one health policy professor at Harvard had to say about the surge:
Just. look. at. this. graph.
— Michael L. Barnett (@ml_barnett) November 13, 2020
Did late March feel terrible and apocalyptic? We are FAR past that point right now.
And guess what? We have not yet reached the BUSIEST HOLIDAY TRAVEL WEEK OF THE YEAR
My patients are asking me about travel plans. They have no idea what is coming pic.twitter.com/klskKjmP49
Major law firm withdraws from Trump campaign's Pennsylvania lawsuit
A major law firm withdrew overnight from a Trump campaign case in Pennsylvania seeking to have mail-in ballots thrown out, in the latest blow to the president’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election result in court.
The Ohio-based Porter Wright Morris & Arthur firm, which brought a suit on Monday alleging that the use of mail-in ballots had created “an illegal two-tiered voting system” in the state, abruptly withdrew from that case in a memo to the court.
“Plaintiffs and Porter Wright have reached a mutual agreement that plaintiffs will be best served if Porter Wright withdraws,” the memo said. The lead lawyer in the case, the Pittsburgh-based Ronald L Hicks, Jr, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The news was first reported by the New York Times.
Unlike most lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign, which targeted small pools of votes whose exclusion would not change the election result, the Porter Wright suit challenged nearly 2.65m votes that were cast by mail, the majority by Democrats.
It accused the secretary of the commonwealth, Kathy Boockvar, of “arbitrary and illegal actions” and sought an emergency order prohibiting the certification of the Pennsylvania election result.
With that lawsuit stalled, certification in Pennsylvania – and the formal election of Joe Biden as president – drew a step closer. By law the state’s result must be certified by 23 November.
Officials praise security of US election as Trump lawsuits fizzle
Good morning, live blog readers.
Election security officials are praising the handling of last week’s US election, even as Donald Trump continues to peddle baseless claims of fraud.
In a statement released last night, a coalition of federal, state and local election officials praised the November 3 election as “the most secure in American history.
Statement from CISA (part of Trump DHS) and state officials says the election "was the most secure in American history," dismisses "unfounded claims," says in bold, "There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised." pic.twitter.com/fS7twFPuyd
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 12, 2020
“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too,” the statement says. “When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”
The statement comes as the Trump campaign’s lawsuits in battleground states continue to fizzle. Several of the lawsuits have already been dismissed, and counties in key states have already started certifying their results.
All of this raises the same question: when will Trump finally admit that Joe Biden has won the presidential election?
Today could provide some clues on that front, so stay tuned.
