Transition
Biden to Appoint Acting Agency Heads Due to Transition Delays
Sabrina Siddiqui and Ken Thomas, The Wall Street Journal
President-elect Joe Biden intends to appoint acting agency heads across the federal government once he takes office because of delays to his transition and Senate consideration of his nominees, transition officials said Tuesday. Mr. Biden’s transition team said career officials would be put in place at most cabinet departments and in some subcabinet agencies following his inauguration next week.
Biden to name Gary Gensler as U.S. SEC chair, sources say
Svea Herbst-Bayliss et al., Reuters
Gary Gensler will be named chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden, said two sources familiar with the matter, an appointment likely to prompt concern among Wall Street firms of tougher regulation. Gensler was chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014, and since November has led Biden’s transition planning for financial industry oversight.
Biden team briefs Congress on emerging stimulus plan, aims for bipartisan deal
Erica Werner and Jeff Stein, The Washington Post
President-elect Joe Biden is finalizing his coronavirus relief plan, with aides briefing congressional staffers Tuesday and indicating that the measure will be tailored to get bipartisan support. The proposal, which Biden intends to unveil on Thursday, is expected to include $2,000 stimulus payments, an extension of enhanced unemployment insurance, money for vaccine distribution and delivery, funding for cities, states, schools, child care and more.
Secret Service launches massive security operation to protect Biden inauguration
Carol D. Leonnig et al., The Washington Post
The Secret Service and federal law enforcement agencies are spending the final days of the Trump administration bracing for a possible violent assault against the Jan. 20 inauguration, launching a security mobilization that will be unlike any in modern U.S. history. On Wednesday, the Secret Service will take command of security preparations at the U.S. Capitol and other federal buildings, backed by as many as 15,000 National Guard troops, thousands of police and tactical officers, and layers of eight-foot steel fencing.
Biden inaugural returns cash from ex-senator-turned-foreign agent
Lachlan Markay, Axios
President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural committee will refund a donation from former Sen. Barbara Boxer after the California Democrat registered as a foreign agent for a Chinese surveillance firm accused of abetting the country’s mass internment of Uighur Muslims, officials tell Axios. Boxer’s contribution was just $500, but the Biden team’s decision to return the money shows how the incoming administration will try to balance its sweeping ethics commitments with K Street efforts to enlist high-profile Democrats with an eye toward advancing clients’ interests in Biden’s Washington.
White House & Administration
Military Joint Chiefs condemn ‘sedition and insurrection’ at US Capitol as federal and local officials scramble to ensure security
Nicole Gaouette et al., CNN
America’s most senior military leaders condemned the violent invasion of the US Capitol last week and reminded service members of their obligation to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism in a statement that underscored the unprecedented challenges facing the country in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection attempt by President Donald Trump’s supporters. “We witnessed actions inside the Capitol building that were inconsistent with the rule of law.
Audio of departing Trump appointee describes Capitol riot as largely peaceful, led by ‘a few violent people’
Yeganeh Torbati, The Washington Post
A departing Trump administration political appointee at the nation’s leading foreign aid agency told staff on Tuesday that the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol was the work of “a few violent people,” and added “several million” others there were protesting peacefully for electoral reform, according to audio recordings of a staff meeting obtained by The Washington Post. Tim Meisburger is a Trump appointee and a departing deputy assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s bureau for development, democracy and innovation. Meisburger made the comments on a video call with about 70 to 80 USAID workers, according to one USAID official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal communications at the agency.
YouTube takes down Trump video, bans new uploads for a week
Ina Fried and Ashley Gold, Axios
YouTube said Tuesday that it has taken down newly posted video content from President Trump for violating its policies against inciting violence. In addition, it has assessed a “strike” against the account, which means the president can’t upload new videos or livestream to the account for a minimum of 7 days.
Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney in Georgia dismisses election fraud claims: ‘There’s just nothing to them’
Chris Joyner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The acting U.S. attorney for Northern Georgia, who was named after his predecessor reportedly angered President Trump for not finding election fraud, told staffers in a conference call Monday that he dismissed two election fraud cases on his first day. “I would love to stand out on the street corner and scream this, and I can’t,” said Bobby Christine, according to an audio recording of the call obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
CDC to require all air travelers to US to show negative coronavirus test
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday it will require a negative Covid-19 test from all air passengers entering the United States — a move it says may help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Air passengers will be required to get a viral test within three days before their flight to the United States departs, and to provide written documentation of their lab results, or documentation of having recovered from Covid-19, the agency said in a statement to CNN.
Chinese Covid-19 Tests Were Pushed by Federal Agencies Despite Security Warnings
Warren P. Strobel et al., The Wall Street Journal
At least two federal agencies worked to distribute Covid-19 tests from a Chinese genetics company, despite warnings about security risks from U.S. intelligence and security officials, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal. In the early days of the virus, BGI Group or people trying to distribute its products approached at least 11 states in a sometimes aggressive push to get the products into government-run laboratories or set up entire labs, according to people who received the approaches and documents.
White House readying last-minute $27B spending cuts plan
Paul M. Krawzak, Roll Call
The Trump administration was preparing a $27.4 billion package of spending rescissions to send to Capitol Hill, likely on Wednesday, which once sent will place a temporary hold on the funds at least until President-elect Joe Biden’s budget team gets situated. The rescissions request, which allows the executive branch to try to cancel previously appropriated funds if Congress agrees, is almost twice as large as the $15.2 billion rescissions request he sent to Congress in 2018.
Luxembourg, EU snub Pompeo in final Europe trip, diplomats say
Robin Emmott and Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled his Europe trip at the last minute on Tuesday after Luxembourg’s foreign minister and top European Union officials declined to meet him, European diplomats and other people familiar with the matter said. The Europeans snubbed Washington’s top envoy days after the storming of the U.S. Capitol by thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump, an unprecedented attack on American democracy that stunned many world leaders and U.S. allies.
Congress
GOP Refuses To Follow New Capitol Safety Rules In Aftermath Of Riot
Sanjana Karanth and Matt Fuller, HuffPost
House Republicans are refusing to follow new safety rules at the Capitol and go through metal detectors after a deadly riot threatened their lives just one week ago. Lawmakers made their way into the chamber Tuesday night to vote on whether to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office after he incited a mob of his supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an effort to overturn the election results.
Congress United After 9/11, but 1/6 Has Deepened the Divide
Carl Hulse, The New York Times
As the Senate majority leader on Sept. 11, 2001, Tom Daschle was among those hurriedly evacuated in the chaos of an expected attack on the Capitol, only to return later that evening for a bipartisan show of unity and resolve on the marble steps many had used to flee just hours earlier. “We all joined together after 9/11 and professed ourselves to be Americans, not just Republicans and Democrats, as we sang ‘God Bless America’ on those same Capitol steps and returned to business the next morning,” Mr. Daschle, the former Democratic senator from South Dakota, recalled this week.
The Cheney-McCarthy rift busts open
Olivia Beavers and Melanie Zanona, Politico
Liz Cheney and Kevin McCarthy are making two very different bets on Donald Trump — and the one who guesses right may find themselves with a future leading the GOP. The decision by Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, to split with the minority leader and embrace Trump’s impeachment marks the most dramatic rift in the upper rungs of GOP leadership since Trump took office.
GOP lawmaker ‘strongly considering’ impeachment: Trump is ‘no longer qualified to hold that office’
Paul LeBlanc, CNN
Michigan GOP Rep. Peter Meijer said Monday evening he is “strongly considering” voting to impeach President Donald Trump following last week’s riot at the US Capitol, assessing that the President is “no longer qualified to hold that office.” “I would prefer that we have a more fulsome investigation into what happened. Most of what I know about January 6 came either from personal experience or from Twitter. But at the end of the day, I think it is obvious that the President is no longer qualified to hold that office,” Meijer told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “Out Front.”
Mikie Sherrill claims Congress members gave ‘reconnaissance’ tours day before Capitol raid
Nicholas Katzban, Bergen Record
In a live webcast Tuesday evening, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11, made a startling claim that some members of Congress led groups of people through the Capitol Building on a “reconnaissance” tour one day before the riot that laid a deadly siege on the government’s legislative branch. During the Facebook Live, Sherrill, a Montclair resident, addressed her constituents to explain why she voted for a resolution to implore Vice President Mike Pence to remove President Donald Trump from office by invoking the 25th Amendment, and, after that measures foreseen failure, why she intends to support an article of impeachment against Trump for “incitement of insurrection.”
Schumer calls for speedy confirmation of Biden Cabinet picks
Lisa Mascaro and Alexandra Jaffe, The Associated Press
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that a coronavirus relief bill will be the top priority for his caucus but added that the recent violence at the Capitol shows the need to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s national security team on “day one” of the new administration. In a letter to colleagues shared first with The Associated Press, Schumer said the deadly Capitol riot by a mob loyal to President Donald Trump was “one of the darkest days in all of American history.”
House Democrats look to fast-track Austin vote in wake of U.S. Capitol assault
Lara Seligman and Connor O’Brien, Politico
Top House Democrats are working to fast-track a waiver for retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to be the next Defense secretary, with some members pushing to bypass a hearing and committee votes for the nominee, according to two congressional aides. Austin’s confirmation to lead the Pentagon has taken on new urgency in the wake of the attacks on the U.S. Capitol last week.
‘Aggressive’: Bernie Sanders on his big plans as Budget chair
Caitlin Emma, Politico
The Senate Budget Committee’s new chair is an unabashed progressive and self-described democratic socialist prepared to be as “aggressive” as he possibly can with budget tactics to help Democrats and President-elect Joe Biden enact their sweeping agenda. Under a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate, Bernie Sanders will oversee budget and spending work, including the procedural power of budget reconciliation the majority can use to evade the filibuster and pass massive bills without a single Republican vote.
General
How Sheldon Adelson’s Death Could Affect the G.O.P.’s Future
Jeremy W. Peters and Shane Goldmacher, The New York Times
The death of Sheldon G. Adelson, the casino magnate who used his vast fortune to tip the balance of power in Washington over the last decade by helping Republicans take control of the House, the Senate and eventually the White House, adds another element of uncertainty for the party as it faces a bitter reckoning over President Trump’s legacy. Already, the fallout over the deadly siege on the Capitol by Trump supporters last week has hit the Republican Party financially, with several blue-chip corporations like Marriott and Blue Cross Blue Shield announcing that they would suspend donations to members of Congress who supported Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory.
Johnson & Johnson Expects Vaccine Results Soon but Lags in Production
Carl Zimmer et al., The New York Times
Johnson & Johnson expects to release critical results from its Covid-19 vaccine trial in as little as two weeks — a potential boon in the effort to protect Americans from the coronavirus — but most likely won’t be able to provide as many doses this spring as it promised the federal government because of unanticipated manufacturing delays. If the vaccine can strongly protect people against Covid-19, as some outside scientists expect, it would offer big advantages over the two vaccines authorized in the United States.
Parler Users Breached Deep Inside U.S. Capitol Building, GPS Data Shows
Dell Cameron and Dhruv Mehrotra, Gizmodo
At least several users of the far-right social network Parler appear to be among the horde of rioters that managed to penetrate deep inside the U.S. Capitol building and into areas normally restricted to the public, according to GPS metadata linked to videos posted to the platform the day of the insurrection in Washington. The data, obtained by a computer hacker through legal means ahead of Parler’s shutdown on Monday, offers a bird’s eye view of its users swarming the Capitol grounds after receiving encouragement from President Trump — and during a violent breach that sent lawmakers and Capitol Hill visitors scrambling amid gunshots and calls for their death.
Justices say women must obtain abortion pill in person
Mark Sherman, The Associated Press
The Supreme Court ordered Tuesday that women must visit a doctor’s office, hospital or clinic in person to obtain an abortion pill during the COVID-19 pandemic, though similar rules for other drugs have been suspended during the public health emergency. Eight days before President Donald Trump leaves office, the justices granted a Trump administration appeal to be able to enforce a longstanding rule on getting the abortion pill, mifepristone.
States
Michigan plans to charge ex-Gov. Snyder in Flint water probe
Leonard N. Fleming et al., The Detroit News
Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, top aide Rich Baird and former health director Nick Lyon have been told they will face criminal charges resulting from Flint’s water crisis, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Former Flint Public Works director Howard Croft also expects to be charged again, his lawyer, Jamie White, confirmed Tuesday.
Capitol riot fueled by deep network of GOP statehouse support
David Siders, Politico
One month before the riot at the Capitol, more than 60 Republican state lawmakers from Pennsylvania signed onto a letter urging the state’s congressional delegation to object to results of the presidential election. Across the border in Maryland, a Republican state legislator helped organize buses to take people to the protest that preceded the riot.
California Democrats call effort to recall Gavin Newsom a ‘coup’
Dustin Gardiner, San Francisco Chronicle
Leaders of the California Democratic Party on Tuesday called the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom an attempted “coup” and suggested — without providing evidence — that organizers were linked to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rusty Hicks, the state party chair, and several other prominent Democrats repeatedly made those claims during a news conference they held to discuss “connections” between the recall and last week’s deadly riot by pro-President Trump forces in Washington.
Advocacy
U.S. Chamber may cut off some donations after Capitol riot
Kate Ackley, Roll Call
Lobbyists for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest K Street organization and a regular donor to congressional campaigns, said Tuesday they were evaluating which lawmakers to cut off from the group’s political support after rioters stormed the Capitol last week. “There are some members who by their actions will have forfeited the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — period, full stop,” Neil Bradley, the chamber’s executive vice president and chief policy officer, said during a virtual news conference Tuesday.
A Message from The Better World Campaign
In recent years, we have seen a sharp decline in U.S. leadership and a growing debt of over $1 billion to the UN, leaving a void that countries like China have shown they are more than willing and able to fill. In the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris Administration and the 117th Congress, lawmakers have an opportunity to get America off the sidelines and get us back on the global stage.
Getusback.org
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
I’m 75. I had cancer. I got covid-19 because my GOP colleagues dismiss facts.
Bonnie Watson Coleman, The Washington Post
Over the past day, a lot of people have asked me how I feel. They are usually referring to my covid-19 diagnosis and my symptoms.
Politics Has No Place for Violence
Steve Scalise, The Wall Street Journal
I’m still angry after last week’s events at the Capitol. I mourn for Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries inflicted by rioters, and worry about the morale and safety of his fellow officers. My concerns continue for the safety of my colleagues, staff and members of the press who work in Washington. President Trump should have denounced the attack unequivocally as it was taking place.
The crackup of the Republican Party
Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
The mob attack on the Capitol last week overshadowed another momentous political story, which broke just hours earlier: Democrats retaking the Senate majority, thanks to a pair of victories in a traditionally Republican stronghold. The impact of losing both Senate runoffs in Georgia can’t be overlooked as analysts assess the impact of the Republican Party’s looming divorce from President Trump.
The current divide in the GOP isn’t that deep
Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call
Throughout most of 2020, members of the national media were obsessed with the divide between progressives and pragmatists in the Democratic Party. In columns and news articles, as well as on cable TV “news,” experts and novices alike bombarded readers and viewers with reports of the Democrats’ problems trying to live with Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President-elect Joe Biden in the same party.
Research Reports and Polling
Edelman Trust Barometer 2021
Edelman
After a year of unprecedented disaster and turbulence – the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis, the global outcry over systemic racism and political instability – the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust of societal institutions and leaders around the world. Adding to this is a failing trust ecosystem unable to confront the rampant infodemic, leaving the four institutions – business, government, NGOs and media – in an environment of information bankruptcy and a mandate to rebuild trust and chart a new path forward.
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