"Biden’s pick to lead the CDC: ‘We have a lot of hard work in front of us’" PBS NewsHour 12/29/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: When President-elect Joe Biden enters the Oval Office three weeks from now, his health team will be tasked with taking over the U.S. response to COVID-19, including the vaccine rollout. One of the members of Biden's team is Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who was named the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. She joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.
"Shields and Brooks on Republicans’ latest election challenge" PBS NewsHour 12/11/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including congressional negotiations, President-elect Biden's cabinet picks and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Texas's election challenges.
Judy Woodruff: And now to the analysis of Shields and Brooks. That's syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
Hello to both of you.
So, let's begin with the news this evening, the Supreme Court saying that they do not have standing to take this case filed by the state of Texas challenging, David, the election results in four states that voted for Joe Biden over Donald Trump.
This is a case, gotten a lot of attention — or the suit, I should say — because there were 17 states, many states' attorneys general signed on, two-thirds of the Republican members of the House.
But now the Supreme Court has thrown it out, with dissent, we should say, by Justices Alito and Thomas.
But, David, what does this say about the state of our politics right now with regard to this election result?
David Brooks, New York Times: Well, the court system has hung in there.
And I should pointed out all three Trump-appointed justices sided with the majority on this one. And it's simply written in the Constitution that state legislatures get to control their own elections. And the state of Texas doesn't get to tell Michigan and Pennsylvania and other states whether their elections are firm or not.
It was just an outrageous suit from the beginning, one of the desperate ploys Trump has tried. The shameful thing, of course, is that 126 House Republicans signed onto it and a bunch of attorney generals. It's a party that has just lost any touch with democracy.
Somebody said on Twitter today, Trumpianity is a very strange religion. And, fortunately, unlike the legislative branch on the Republican side, the judicial branch has stayed true and faithful to the obvious meaning of the Constitution.
Judy Woodruff: Mark, as you watch this drama unfold, what do you make of it at this point, now that the Supreme Court has weighed in?
Mark Shields, syndicated columnist: Well, I think we're in the final chapter, Judy. At least I hope so.
I don't — I don't ever ask that people on the other side agree with me. I do ask that you believe in what you say, in the position you take. And this was an example of, I think, base hypocrisy on the part of House Republicans.
They — there are 153 safe Republican House seats in the House of Representatives, that is, that Republicans control or dominant in. And what they're — they're terrified, the members there, are a primary, being primaried by a Donald Trump supporter who said, you didn't stand with the President.
And the Republicans are in a terrible position at this point. They desperately want the Trump voters, the 11 million he brought in over four years ago, for example. But they don't want Donald Trump. They desperately want Donald Trump gone.
And so — but the last thing in the world they want to do is in any way incur his wrath, for fear he will do to them what he did to Mark Sanford or Jeff Sessions in Alabama, and that is punish them for not being 110 percent Trumpist.
Judy Woodruff: But, in the process, David, are they doing damage to our democracy?
David Brooks: Immense damage.
I mean, they're calling an election for millions and millions of people into question. As we have talked about before, 77 percent of Trump backers think it was a fraudulent election. So, where do we go going forward?
They're trying to not alienate Trump voters, but the 126 House members, including people like Kevin McCarthy, leaders, are basically telling his story. And they're telling his [Trump's] comeback story.
They're giving every pretext for him to run again in 2024 and continue to make this Donald Trump's party. And so if they wanted to get rid of Donald Trump, this was, in my view, the worst way to do it, because they have signed on to the gospel, and now they're more or less stuck with it.
Judy Woodruff: Mark, do you see long-lasting damage here?
Mark Shields: Yes.
Judy Woodruff: Is this something that the country can get through?
Mark Shields: Yes, beyond the politics of it, Judy, the position taken is undemocratic. It's hypocritical. It's just indefensible, and when you're talking about elections.
I mean, I would assume that all Republican House members from Michigan and Wisconsin and Georgia and Pennsylvania who signed on to this suit would summarily resign from the House, because they're saying that they were elected in a criminal election.
It's certainly this illegality that they allege out of thin air didn't — wasn't limited just to the Presidential vote. So, I just find it beyond — when I say that want the Trump voters without Donald Trump, they can't wait for Donald Trump to be gone.
I mean, how they quiver in fear about him [Trump]. They just — they're terrified of him. It's not born of affection or anything of the sort or a high regard. It's born of rank fear. And that has to be demeaning for every Republican in the House who signed on.
Liz Cheney, the third member of the House leadership from Wyoming, did not, and good for her.
Judy Woodruff: David, let me ask you both about something else the Congress is not doing, in this instance, and that's a finding a way to come up with relief, help for people suffering in this pandemic.
It's been months and months. They have come down to the wire. They figured out a way to fund the government another few days, but they still don't have COVID relief. What is the holdup here? And do you see them getting through this?
David Brooks: Well, this is a foundational problem, too.
If faith in God collapses, then the church collapses. If faith in our institutions and each other collapses, then the nation collapses. And so undermining the election is one piece of that.
But unwilling — the unwillingness to recognize the legitimacy of views on the other side is another piece of it. And we have had five months of people unwilling to recognize the legitimacy of their views and come to meet them halfway.
We finally last week had a legislature behave like it's supposed to behave, where we had eight senators who created a compromise, along with members of the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House. And they created a very reasonable and, to me, on the merits, a very good compromise on how to get COVID relief.
To their great credit, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said, OK, this is our framework. Mitch McConnell won't go there. And so he's not willing to do the work of legislation. He says that their — that compromise will not work with Republicans.
Well, Mitch McConnell's position won't work with Democrats. So, that's what politics exists for. And so it's just another piece of a fundamentally broken political system.
Judy Woodruff: Mark, do you see a way through this?
Mark Shields: I do, Judy.
I think — it's unthinkable to me that they will not pass a COVID relief bill. I mean, we're talking about Americans on the eve of Christmas without the resources to feed their children, to heat their homes, to pay their rent.
We're not talking about some giveaway to anybody. We're not talking about a major stimulus. We're talking about human survival and human dignity. And I just can't believe that the Republicans, Mitch McConnell, who is threatened by this, they're all consumed with the February (sic) 5 election in Georgia.
And if you're Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue running in those special Senate elections, and you have to stand up there and defend that the Republican Senate was the stumbling block to sending relief to American families in desperate need at Christmastime? I don't think so.
So, I think that, finally, urgency and political survival will intervene.
What threatens Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, is, a leader has to be able to deliver his troops. Right now, he's got a problem, because he doesn't have a majority of his caucus on this side.
And David's right about the bipartisan group meeting, but they represent a threat to leadership. And I give Speaker Pelosi credit for accepting the act of the bipartisan negotiation.
But Mitch McConnell — if the leader is going to be held hostage by bipartisan groups negotiating a fair deal, then, oh, my goodness, there goes your power, because, in Washington, the perception power is power. If I think you have power, you do. And if enough people think you have power, then you do.
And once there are doubts about your power — and I think that's where McConnell finds himself right now.
Judy Woodruff: David, in the time we have left, I do want to ask you about President-elect Biden.
He's been introducing more of the top people in his administration, the people he wants to serve. I guess the one who's getting the most criticism or attention that has been critical is Lloyd Austin, the retired Army general, to be secretary of defense. But there are others.
It's interesting, a number of familiar faces from the Obama administration. What do you make of the — some of the senior picks he's made so far?
David Brooks: Well, Joe Biden has picked people he really knows, people he knows well. He spent a lot of time with Lloyd Austin in Iraq when he was vice President. He's picked Denis McDonough for the VA, who, by the way, is one of the most fundamentally decent people I have ever covered in public life.
These are, by and large, almost entirely, very good people, but very familiar, Susan Rice over now at the domestic side. And so they are people he knows, he trusts who will be ready on day one. And so it's — it is really Obama three, in that sense.
I also share some of the concerns with Lloyd Austin, not for anything having to do with Lloyd Austin and his performance. But there's a reason we have this rule, this tradition, and also a rule, that you don't have generals switching right over to the defense secretary. It's about civilian control.
It's about picking people who have distance from the current military brass. And that is a very solid and sensible rule. And in the Jim Mattis case, where we also had to get an exemption, that struck me as an extreme circumstance where getting Jim Mattis in there was so important, it was worth breaking the rule.
Now there must be a lot of very qualified people, like Michele Flournoy, who could be Secretary [of] Defense. I don't quite see why we run this risk of traversing what is a sensible principle.
Judy Woodruff: And, Mark, what is your assessment of some of these Biden — some of the main Biden picks so far?
Mark Shields: Well, Judy, I think, in dramatic contrast to his predecessor, Joe Biden was knocked by his political opponents for having spent 47 years in Washington [DC].
He knows these people. He's worked with them. He knows their strengths and their weaknesses. If they turn out to be lemons, it's because Joe Biden picked them, not because they were imposed upon him. And so I really think that the strength of the nominees is that Joe Biden certifies them, validates them. And that's the accountability of a presidential leader.
And on the whole, I remained impressed by them. I would point out that any money that's left over from the stimulus, the original bailout on COVID, will be in the stewardship of Janet Yellen, as Secretary of Treasury. And I think there's somebody who will spend it wisely and well and quite humanely.
Judy Woodruff: And on that note, we thank you both, Mark Shields, David Brooks.
Have a great weekend.
Mark Shields: Thank you.
Once again, Republics prove they no longer support democracy.
"How voters are being ‘duped’ by Trump’s election challenges" PBS NewsHour 12/10/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: A lawsuit filed this week by the Texas Attorney General asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay certification of election results in four states won by President-elect Joe Biden. President Trump and 17 states, all with Republicans attorneys general, signed on to the case, which experts say has little chance of being heard by the justices. Judy Woodruff Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan to discuss.
"Supreme Court denies Texas attempt to overturn election results" PBS NewsHour 12/11/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: In a closely watched decision the U.S. Supreme Court late Friday denied an attempt by the state of Texas, supported by a large number of Republicans, to overturn the election results and President-elect Joe Biden's victory in four states. Judy Woodruff spoke with John Yang, Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor to discuss.
"Transition process formally under way. GSA action allows briefings, funding for Biden team." by U-T News Services, San Diego Union-Tribune 11/21/2020
NOTE: This is copied from the e-newspaper, therefore no link to article.
President Donald Trump’s government on Monday authorized president-elect Joe Biden to begin a formal transition process after Michigan certified Biden as its winner, a strong sign that the President’s last-ditch bid to overturn the results of the election was coming to an end.
Trump did not concede, and vowed to persist with efforts to change the vote. But the President said on Twitter on Monday night that he accepted the decision by Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration [GSA], to allow a transition to proceed.
In his tweet, Trump said that he had told his officials to begin “initial protocols” involving the handoff to Biden “in the best interest of our country.”
Murphy’s designation of Biden as the apparent victor provides the incoming administration with federal funds and resources and clears the way for the president-elect’s advisers to coordinate with Trump administration officials.
The decision from Murphy came after several additional senior Republican lawmakers, as well as leading figures from business and world affairs, denounced the delay in allowing the peaceful transfer of power to begin, a holdup that Biden and his top aides said was threatening national security and the ability of the incoming administration to effectively plan for combating the coronavirus pandemic.
And it followed a key court decision in Pennsylvania, where the state’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled against the Trump campaign and the President’s Republican allies, stating that roughly 8,000 ballots with signature or date irregularities must be counted.
In Michigan, the statewide canvassing board, with two Republicans and two Democrats, voted, 3-0, to approve the results, with one Republican abstaining. It officially delivered to Biden a key battleground that Trump had wrested away from Democrats four years ago, and rebuffed the President’s legal and political efforts to overturn the results.
By Monday evening, as Biden moved ahead with plans to fill out his Cabinet, broad sectors of the nation had delivered a blunt message to the President: His campaign to stay in the White House was nearing the end.
Murphy said she made her decision Monday because of “recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results,” most likely referring to the certification of votes by election officials in Michigan and a nearly unbroken string of court decisions that have rejected Trump’s challenges in several states.
In conversations earlier in the day with top aides — including Mark Meadows, the White House Chief of Staff; Pat Cipollone, the White House Counsel; and Jay Sekulow, the President’s personal lawyer — Trump was told that the transition needed to begin. He did not need to say the word “concede,” they told him, according to multiple people briefed on the discussions. But they emphasized that in the United States, transitions are hugely important.
Some of the advisers drafted a statement for the President to issue. But Trump continued to solicit opinions from associates, including Rudy Giuliani, who told him there were still legal avenues to pursue, the people briefed on the discussions said.
In the end, Trump did not put out a statement, but aides said the tone of the proposed statement was similar to his tweets in the evening, in which he appeared to take credit for Murphy’s decision to allow the transition to a new administration to begin.
“Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!” he wrote. “Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
In a letter to Biden, Murphy rebutted Trump’s assertion that he had directed her to make the decision, saying that “I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts.” She said she was “never directly or indirectly pressured by any executive branch official — including those who work at the White House or the GSA.”
“I do not think that an agency charged with improving federal procurement and property management should place itself above the constitutionally-based election process,” she wrote, defending her delay by saying that she did not want to get ahead of the constitutional process of counting votes and picking a President.
Murphy said she had received threats online, by phone, and by mail “directed at my safety, my family, my staff, and even my pets in an effort to coerce me into making this determination prematurely.”
“Even in the face of thousands of threats, I always remained committed to upholding the law,” the letter said.
She did not describe Biden as the “president-elect” in her letter, even as she said the transition could begin.
One associate with knowledge of Murphy’s thinking said that she always anticipated signing off on the transition but that she needed a defensible rationale to do so in the absence of a concession from Trump; the pro-Biden developments in Michigan and Pennsylvania, as well as in Georgia, provided a clear justification for moving ahead.
That decision was part of a cascade of events over the last several days that appeared to signal the end of Trump’s attempts to resist the will of the voters.
Large counties in Pennsylvania were formalizing Biden’s victory in the state. And in a major break with the President, General Motors announced it would no longer back the administration’s efforts to nullify California’s fuel economy rules.
On Capitol Hill, most of Trump’s Republican allies had stood by his side for the past two weeks as he [Trump] tried to overturn the vote. But on Monday, some of the Senate’s most senior Republicans sharply urged Murphy to allow the transition to proceed.
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who is retiring, issued his second call in recent days for a prompt transition.
“Since it seems apparent that Joe Biden will be the president-elect, my hope is that President Trump will take pride in his considerable accomplishments, put the country first and have a prompt and orderly transition to help the new administration succeed,” said Alexander, a close friend of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) the Senate majority leader. “When you are in public life, people remember the last thing you do.”
Earlier in the day, Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, both Republicans, issued statements breaking from Trump and calling for Biden to begin receiving coronavirus and national security briefings.
“At some point, the 2020 election must end,” Capito said.
The pressure on Trump extended beyond the political sphere. More than 100 business leaders sent a letter to the administration on Monday asking it to facilitate a transition, and a group of Republican national security experts implored Republican members of Congress to demand that Trump concede.
One of the President’s staunchest supporters, Stephen Schwarzman, the chief executive of the private equity firm Blackstone, did not sign the business leaders’ letter but said in a statement that “the outcome is very certain today and the country should move on.”
The New York Times and The Washington Post contributed to this report.
