Trump, RNC raise over $200M on vote fraud claims, but some big-money donors aren’t backing his fight – CNBC
Trump, RNC raise over $200M on vote fraud claims, but some big-money donors aren’t backing his fight – CNBC

President Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters in October that if he really wanted to overcome Joe Biden’s fundraising supremacy, he could call the heads of any major company and they would come to his aid.

“All I have to do is call up the head of every Wall Street firm, head of every major company, the head of every major energy company, ‘Do me a favor, send me $10 million for my campaign.’ Yes, sir,'” Trump told the crowd of supporters in Arizona in October.

However, new Federal Election Commission records, tracking fundraising from Oct. 15 to Nov. 23, show that wealthy GOP financiers largely did not help Trump in the final weeks of the bruising battle with Biden as he dropped in the polls or parachute in millions toward his current legal fight.

It’s the latest sign that many executives could be ready to work with President-elect Biden. In the case of the legal fight, some of the leading party donors had previously maxed out to the campaign and Republican National Committee, leaving Trump’s political team unable to turn to them for financial assistance.

The Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, his two joint fundraising committees and the president’s leadership committee, Save America, raised over $200 million since Election Day. Save America will likely be used to fund any political initiatives Trump is planning after he leaves the White House, including possibly running for president again in 2024.

Trump’s fraud pitch, while apparently not moving many business leaders, appears to be resonating with small-dollar donors, who may be convinced that their money is going expressly to the fraud fight, and likely provided much of the money raised in the period.

Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of private equity behemoth Blackstone, and a longtime Trump confidant, did not contribute to any pro-Trump groups in recent weeks, according to election filings. Instead, he gave $15 million in November to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

As CNBC reported, Schwarzman was one of the many Wall Street executives who walked away from helping Trump in the final stretch of the election. Schwarzman said in late November that, after supporting the president for the past four years, he’s now ready to move on to “help President-elect Biden and his team as they confront the significant challenges of rebuilding our post-Covid economy.”

Since Election Day on Nov. 3, the Trump campaign has initiated dozens of legal fights in states where Biden has been deemed the winner, including in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia. Trump and his allies have lost or withdrawn essentially every court case related to the election, failing to invalidate any votes for Biden.

Attorney General William Barr this week said that the Justice Department has found no evidence of widespread ballot fraud, much less any fraud that would overturn Biden’s projected victory. The campaign spent millions on legal fees linked to the “recount,” filings say, including $600,000 that went toward the law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres. The firm was founded by longtime Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz.

The Trump campaign requested a partial recount in Wisconsin, for which it paid $3 million.

But Reuters reported last month that large chunks of contributions are, in fact, not going toward efforts to overturn the election results and instead are going to Save America or the Republican National Committee. The fine print on the Trump election defense fund donation page says that “75% of each contribution [goes] first to Save America, up to $5,000,” suggesting that a majority of contributions to the legal matter actually go to Trump’s committee for other purposes.

“We enjoy unprecedented financial support from an ever-growing group of investors, large and small, because President Trump and Republicans continue to fight on the issues that a majority of Americans care about, most notably ensuring the integrity of our elections and defending the Republican majority in the Senate,” Cassie Smedile, RNC deputy communications director, said in a statement.

Representatives for the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump donor Dan Eberhart told CNBC that many Republican business leaders were not interested in investing in a candidate that had flailing public poll numbers in the final weeks of the election or his next moves in politics. By Election Day, a Real Clear Politics national polling average had Biden up by seven points.

“Only the crazies still believe,” Eberhart told CNBC when discussing who is still giving to Trump. “This is grassroots, true believers,” he added.

A former senior campaign official told CNBC on the condition of anonymity that big-money donors that hadn’t yet given to the cause had shied away by the end of the campaign because the president wasn’t taking part in certain in-person events because of the coronavirus pandemic and some executives wouldn’t attend if he wasn’t there. This person declined to be named in order to speak freely.

Some GOP megadonors had given big earlier in the election cycle toward Trump’s joint fundraising committees, which allow donors to write six-figure checks, or pro-Trump super PACs, which accept an unlimited amount of money from contributors. Most recently, many decided to spend millions on the battles being waged in both the Senate and House campaigns.

Of the top Republican big-money donors that, combined, gave over $500 million throughout the 2020 election cycle to Trump and other GOP campaigns, only a handful gave to entities supporting the commander-in-chief over the six-week period from mid-October to late November.

Those few Republican megadonors that did spend heavily for the president in the final weeks of the election include casino magnates Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, who contributed a combined $15 million to the pro-Trump PAC Preserve America. Bernard Marcus, a co-founder of Home Depot, gave a $5 million contribution to the same PAC. That PAC is currently not involved with the president’s legal battle, and records show that those big donations came in the final two weeks of October.

The new records show that Miriam Adelson recently gave $106,500 to the RNC, as did Marcus. The Adelsons finished the 2020 election cycle donating at least $200 million toward Republican efforts.

Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the founders of shipping supply company Uline and longtime Trump supporters, also virtually disappeared in financially assisting the president, recording minimal contributions since mid-October. The couple, who recently tested positive for the coronavirus, had previously spent over $65 million on GOP-related causes this cycle.

Timothy Mellon, the chairman of Pan Am Systems, gave $5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund in November. Pro-Trump groups saw very little from him over that same period, after he gave millions to the president’s cause earlier in the campaign.

In September, Ike Perlmutter, chairman of Marvel Entertainment and a reputed outside advisor to Trump on the Department of Veterans Affairs, combined with his wife to give $21 million to America First Action. Since mid-October, records show no sign of the Perlmutters spending in the latter stages of the campaign to help Trump.

Even some of Trump’s friends who supported him in the past seem to be distancing themselves from the president’s future endeavors. Ronald Lauder, the heir of Estee Lauder Companies and a friend of Trump’s, donated $3.5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund in October. The most recent records show that since the late stages of the election, he has not given anything to the president.

CNBC reported in August that Lauder has gone quiet on supporting Trump.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/04/trump-gop-fundraising-election-vote-fraud-claims.html

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Pelosi eyes combining Covid aid with mammoth spending deal – POLITICO
Pelosi eyes combining Covid aid with mammoth spending deal – POLITICO

Pelosi said the $908 billion proposal released this week by a centrist group of Senate and House members helped restart the stimulus talks, which fell apart just before the election after months of dragging on with little real movement.

“There is momentum — there is momentum with the action that the senators and House members in a bipartisan way have taken,” Pelosi said Friday, in the latest sign that negotiators are closing in on a deal. “The tone of our conversations is one that is indicative of the decision to get the job done.”

But hurdles remain. Government funding runs out in just one week, and there are still a sizable number of issues impeding an agreement on a massive spending package that would increase agency budgets for the rest of the fiscal year.

The sheer number of outstanding items at such a late stage makes it increasingly likely that congressional negotiators will require a brief stopgap spending bill to complete their work before leaving for the holidays. Such a decision could be made early next week if lawmakers fail to make significant progress over the weekend.

Pelosi demurred when asked about the possibility of a short-term stopgap to buy more time for talks, and dismissed the need for a longer term continuing resolution that would extend current government funding into early next year.

“We will take the time that we need,” Pelosi said, while acknowledging that a number of issues remain, including some outside of appropriators’ jurisdiction.

“Don’t worry about a date,” she added.

While appropriators in both chambers remain optimistic that they’ll finish their work before the holidays, Republicans and Democrats are still swapping offers and arguing over details, kicking some of the most difficult items up to congressional leaders.

For example, a House Democratic aide close to the talks said Republicans want to scrub any mentions of Covid-19 from the omnibus package entirely. Earlier this year, House Democrats added coronavirus relief to their slate of fiscal 2021 appropriations bills, while Senate Republicans have insisted that pandemic aid remain totally separate from annual appropriations measures.

Republicans are also objecting to funding for research on reducing racial and ethnic inequalities in the justice system, in addition to language that would require the Capitol Police to report on policies and procedures on eliminating unconscious bias and racial profiling during training, the Democratic aide said.

Republicans, meanwhile, are accusing Democrats of holding up omnibus talks by insisting on the removal of two Interior-Environment policy riders that have been included in annual spending bills for years. The provisions involve protections for the greater sage-grouse, in addition to a provision related to the carbon neutrality of forest biomass.

“Dredging these up right now is beyond counterproductive,” a GOP aide familiar with the talks said Thursday night.

Funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall also remains a perennial sticking point — Senate Republicans have proposed $2 billion for fiscal 2021, which began on Oct. 1. House Democrats have proposed no extra cash.

Lawmakers have also disagreed on detention beds for detained migrants in recent days, although Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) — the top Senate Democrat who oversees funding for the Department of Homeland Security — said Thursday that issue may get solved without the help of leadership.

Also in question is whether the White House will ultimately support a package that classifies billions of dollars in veterans’ health care spending as “emergency” spending outside of strict budget limits. Both House Appropriations Chair Nita Lowey and Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby are moving forward with their negotiations assuming that’s the case, since the White House has previously signed off on such an arrangement.

Pelosi on Friday also said that whatever coronavirus relief they include in the government funding bill will not be the last time Congress addresses the ongoing pandemic, which continues to devastate the U.S., killing more than 275,000 Americans and causing a sharp downturn in the economy. The U.S. saw the deadliest day ever on Thursday, with Covid-19 fatalities exceeding 2,700.

“President-elect Biden has said that this package would be, just at best, just a start. And that’s how we see it as well,” Pelosi said.

The speaker also defended her decision to hold out for months, demanding a larger deal in the ballpark of $2 trillion or more, only to agree to negotiate this smaller package now. McConnell, similarly, refused to come off his much smaller baseline over the summer — pushing a $500 billion package — resulting in a standoff between congressional leaders.

“That was not a mistake, it was a decision,” Pelosi told reporters, saying the dynamics have significantly shifted since the election of Joe Biden and the quicker than expected vaccine development. “That is a total game changer — a new president and a vaccine.”

With cautious optimism about the prospect of passing some fiscal stimulus to buoy the American economy during a bleak pandemic winter, lawmakers remain hopeful that Congress will pull it together before leaving Washington, despite lingering omnibus headaches.

“You know this place — turns on a dime,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who was elected by the Democratic caucus on Thursday as the next Appropriations chair.

Sarah Ferris contributed to this story.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/04/nancy-pelosi-covid-aid-spending-deal-442870

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Pompeo willing to meet with incoming Biden team, officials say – CNN
Pompeo willing to meet with incoming Biden team, officials say – CNN

By Kylie Atwood, CNN

Updated 2:35 PM ET, Fri December 4, 2020

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/pompeo-biden-transition-willing-to-meet/index.html

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Republicans fear Trump’s false claims could hurt party in Georgia runoff – The Guardian
Republicans fear Trump’s false claims could hurt party in Georgia runoff – The Guardian

Donald Trump is set to host a Saturday rally in Georgia amid concerns he is discouraging Republicans there from turning out to vote in a critical runoff contest by attacking top GOP officials and falsely claiming fraud and voting-machine irregularities cost him the November election.

The event will be Trump’s biggest public appearance since losing Georgia, and the presidential race, last month. He will rally on behalf of Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, two Republican senators in runoff contests. Republicans need to win at least one of the contests in order to retain control of the US Senate and maintain a veto over the next four years of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Trump is urging supporters to vote for Perdue and Loeffler, but some Republicans worry he could be hurting their chances of winning. Even after a hand recount confirmed Trump lost Georgia by about 13,000 votes, the president has continued to falsely claim fraud cost him the election. By undermining confidence in the election, Trump could also be telling his supporters that their votes won’t matter.

L Lin Wood and Sidney Powell, two prominent conservative attorneys who have filed a spate of baseless pro-Trump lawsuits alleging election malfeasance, encouraged supporters in Georgia on Wednesday not to vote in the runoff election.

“We’re not gonna go vote 5 January on another machine made by China. You’re not gonna fool Georgians again,” Wood said on Wednesday. “If Kelly Loeffler wants your vote, if David Perdue wants your vote, they’ve got to earn it. They’ve got to demand publicly, repeatedly, consistently, ‘Brian Kemp: call a special session of the Georgia legislature.’ And if they do not do it, if Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue do not do it, they have not earned your vote.

“Don’t you give it to them. Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election?”

Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, faced skeptical voters in Georgia last weekend and had to reassure them the Senate election was not yet decided, according to CNN. Donald Trump Jr tweeted last month that calls to boycott the runoff were “nonsense” and allies plan to launch a Super Pac aimed at turning out the president’s supporters in January.

Trump previewed an attempt to balance his endorsement of Perdue and Loeffler with his attacks on voting during a 46-minute video statement released on Wednesday filled with blatant lies about voting.

“David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are two tremendous people. Unfortunately, in Georgia, they’re using the same, horrible Dominion system,” he said, referring to a company that makes voting equipment that Trump and his allies have baselessly attacked. “Hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots have been requested. You check it out who’s requesting those ballots. The difference is it’s one state and we will have our eyes on it like nobody’s ever watched anything before. Because we have to win those two Senate seats.”

Several well-known Georgia Republicans, including former governor Nathan Deal and former senator Johnny Isakson, also released an open letter on Wednesday warning the attention around fraud was taking away attention from the runoff race.

“We have watched with increasing concern as the debate surrounding the state’s electoral system has made some within our party consider whether voting in the coming runoff election matters,” they wrote in the letter, according to the New York Times.

Trump will also arrive in Georgia having launched an internal war among Republicans. He has repeatedly attacked fellow Republican Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top election official, for not helping him overturn the election results. Perdue and Loeffler have asked Raffensperger to resign over his handling of the election, even though there is no evidence of wrongdoing in the state.

Raffensperger has loudly pushed back on Trump’s accusations, saying the president’s own fearmongering about vote by mail is what may have cost him the election. Trump also attacked Brian Kemp, the conservative governor of Georgia, calling him “hapless” on Monday, saying he regretted endorsing him, and asking him to exercise emergency powers to overturn the results of the election. Kemp released a statement in response saying Georgia law prohibited him from interfering in elections.

Jay Williams, a Republican strategist in Georgia, said Trump’s attacks on the election were not particularly helpful, but said he did not think they would ultimately have much of an impact on the election.

“Most of these voters who show up in these runoffs are fairly sophisticated and understand what’s at stake and in Georgia specifically,” he said. “It’s not ideal from a unity standpoint, from a messaging standpoint.”

Eric Johnson, a former Republican state lawmaker who is now advising Loeffler’s campaign, also predicted that Trump’s attacks would not dramatically affect the election results. Still, Johnson said Trump’s message about the election had been “complicated” and he hoped he would change his tone at the Saturday rally.

“The way I’ve been phrasing it is, ‘Let the lawyers focus on the last election. Those in the grassroots need to focus on the next election,’” he said. “He doesn’t have to accept what happened in Georgia, but he can say, ‘We still need to go to the polls. We still need to trust that we’ve learned from what happened on November 3 and move forward.’”

Johnson said he had been encouraging people in Georgia to sign up to be poll workers and poll watchers for the runoff, and that Republicans would ultimately be motivated to vote by the potential for Senate control.

“Republicans do the math, they know what 50-50 looks like, and they know what 52-48 looks like,” he said. “Everybody that voted for President Trump doesn’t want the far-left agenda. They want the president’s legacy, if he’s not re-elected, to stand, and the Senate is the finger in the dike.”

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/04/trump-georgia-rally-republicans-turnout

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House Passes Landmark Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana – The New York Times
House Passes Landmark Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana – The New York Times

It is the first major piece of legislation aimed at addressing racial disparities in the criminal justice system that Congress has taken up since June, when the House, responding to a national outcry for racial justice, passed a behemoth policing overhaul bill, which ultimately was stalled by partisan disagreement. To date, Congress has yet to send any legislation to the president’s desk addressing the issue since nationwide protests last summer.

“This is part of the same effort to make it possible for minority communities to live on an equal basis in this country,” Mr. Nadler said.

Republicans denounced the bill, and castigated Democrats for bringing it to the floor before lawmakers had struck a compromise on coronavirus relief. Democrats had postponed a vote on the legislation scheduled earlier in the fall after some moderate lawmakers facing difficult re-election races fretted about fending off those attacks, during a campaign in which Republicans accused them of backing a radical liberal agenda.

“With mere days left in the year to get something done for the American people who are suffering, Speaker Pelosi has brought up a drug legalization bill,” said Representative Pete Stauber, Republican of Minnesota. “As children struggle to receive their education and child care facilities close; as seniors remain isolated from their families, this is their solution.”

Five Republicans broke from their party to support the bill, as did Representative Justin Amash, Libertarian of Michigan. — But some who ultimately voted for the bill were vocal in airing their complaints.

“If Pelosi was serious about marijuana reform we would take a vote on the STATES Act, which would pass the Senate and be signed into law,” Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, said, referencing a bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate that would legalize marijuana. “But she isn’t. So we’ll do this instead.”

Mr. Gaetz added: “I prefer my marijuana reform not dipped in reparations policy, frankly.”

For Democrats, that was exactly the point.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/us/politics/house-marijuana.html

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Trump fixated on his own political fate as virus kills record number of Americans – ABC News
Trump fixated on his own political fate as virus kills record number of Americans – ABC News

A day after the United States’ coronavirus daily death toll nearly surpassed the number killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, President Donald Trump remained out of sight — fixated not on the raging pandemic but rather on his own political fate.

The president made no public appearances Friday, a day after the United States recorded 2,879 Americans deaths caused by COVID-19, 217,664 confirmed cases of the virus and over 100,000 hospitalizations — all records.

Trump has spent his waning days in office not focused on leading the United States through a historic, deadly crisis but rather fundraising for his future political endeavors and sowing doubt in the country’s democratic foundations.

Regurgitating debunked conspiracy theories about electoral fraud that courts across the country have rejected, the president and the Republican Party have collected hundreds of millions of dollars as Trump mulls another run for the presidency four years down the line.

All the while, top U.S. public health experts have issued startling warnings.

“The COVID risk to all Americans is at a historic high,” the White House’s coronavirus task force told governors Sunday in a report obtained by ABC News. “We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity; a further post-Thanksgiving surge will compromise COVID patient care, as well as medical care overall.”

More than 276,000 Americans have been killed so far, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday predicted 53,000 more lives could be lost by Dec. 26. On average, one person died every 30 seconds Thursday.

“The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times,” the CDC’s director, Robert Redfield, said Wednesday. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that it’s going to put on our health care system.”

Trump’s Twitter feed, meanwhile, has focused almost entirely on making wild, false accusations of electoral fraud.

Trump has held few public events since the election ended on Nov. 3, with just one devoted to the virus — a Nov. 13 Rose Garden gathering at which he touted what he characterized as the United States’ unprecedented pace at producing vaccines.

Asked Thursday what, if anything, the president was doing that day to address the pandemic, the White House did not offer any specifics. Asked about what he was doing Friday related to the pandemic, the White House did not respond.

As millions of Americans experience economic hardship, Trump on Thursday expressed general support for coronavirus-related relief from Congress. But he has shown little interest in engaging with Capitol Hill during negotiations over what form that support would take.

In pre-taped, scripted remarks that aired during the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony Thursday, Trump did briefly mention the “once-in-a-century pandemic,” noting “the goodness of our fellow citizens” and workers producing “life-saving supplies and critical aid.”

“Brave doctors, nurses and first responders have courageously risked their lives to save others,” he said.

In recent days, Trump has lamented that President-elect Joe Biden could receive credit for the vaccines. Inoculations may begin as soon as late next week — pending authorization by the Food and Drug Administration — although most doses would be distributed after Biden takes office in January.

Trump on Wednesday posted a 46-minute diatribe filled with a dizzying array of falsehoods about the election he lost — which he delivered standing at a podium with the presidential seal, in the White House.

Declaring “this may be the most important speech I’ve ever made,” he only briefly mentioned the coronavirus — blaming Democrats for “using the pandemic as a pretext” to expand access to voting by mail.

“It is important for Americans to understand,” he said, “that these destructive changes to our election laws were not a necessary response to the pandemic.”

Trump offered no evidence to back his claim. He also made no reference to the virus’s victims.

As the president’s words and tweets became further detached from reality over the past month, more Americans died.

Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parsacle, said in an interview this week that he thought Trump’s lack of public empathy tipped the election in Biden’s favor.

“I think it was the decision on COVID to go for opening the economy vs. public empathy,” Parscale said in an interview with Fox News that aired Tuesday. “And I think a young family with a young child who, one, were scared to take them back to school, wanted to see an empathetic president and an empathetic Republican Party.”

“I think he could have leaned into it, instead of run away from it,” Parscale added.

Instead, Trump’s White House has become a poster child for behavior public health experts say will make the situation worse.

It has begun hosting large, indoor holiday parties — directly contradicting guidance from the CDC — one of which Trump attended on Monday. Few of the attendees wore masks or practiced social distancing.

Dozens of White House officials, Trump allies, campaign officials and others have tested positive for COVID-19 in a series of outbreaks, including the president, first lady and their 14-year-old son, sometimes after large or indoor events.

West Wing staffers eschew mask-wearing, and the president has publicly mocked those who follow common-sense precautions.

The president plans to hold another packed, outdoor campaign rally in Georgia Saturday for two GOP candidates facing Senate runoffs. It appears to be styled after the dozens he held in the final days of his reelection campaign, when thousands of his supporters crammed together and most did not wear masks.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Josh Margolin contributed reporting.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-fixated-political-fate-virus-kills-record-number/story?id=74536821

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Georgia Says Sidney Powell’s Suit Could Hinder Senate Runoff – Bloomberg
Georgia Says Sidney Powell’s Suit Could Hinder Senate Runoff – Bloomberg

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Source Article from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-04/georgia-says-sidney-powell-s-lawsuit-could-hinder-senate-runoff

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Biden: Trump should attend inauguration for country, personally doesn’t care – Business Insider – Business Insider
Biden: Trump should attend inauguration for country, personally doesn’t care – Business Insider – Business Insider
  • In an interview with CNN on Thursday, President-elect Joe Biden was asked whether he thought it’s important for President Donald Trump to attend his inauguration.
  • Biden said it was “of no personal consequence to me” if Trump attended, but he added that it was important to demonstrate the peaceful transfer of power and an “end of this chaos that he’s created.”
  • Inauguration days traditionally involve the outgoing president hosting the incoming president for tea at the White House, before traveling to the event together.
  • Few outgoing presidents have skipped attending their successors’ inauguration. 
  • Trump has hinted that he may run again in 2024, and The Daily Beast reported last month that Trump was considering hosting a campaign event at the same time as Biden’s inauguration. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

President-elect Joe Biden said in a new interview that he didn’t personally care whether President Donald Trump would attend his inauguration but thought such attendance would be important for the country.

Talking to CNN on Thursday, Biden was asked whether he thought it’s important for Trump to attend his inauguration on January 20 — a customary gesture by outgoing presidents that Trump has not confirmed he will be doing.

In fact, Trump is still refusing to concede the 2020 election to Biden — despite Biden’s victory becoming clear nearly a month ago.

The Daily Beast reported last month that Trump might hold a rally on the day of Biden’s inauguration, and the president has continued to hint at a possible 2024 run for the White House.

Biden said Trump’s attendance at his inauguration was “important in a sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos — that he’s created — that there is a peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands, and moving on.”

“I really worry about the image that we’re presenting to the rest of the world,” he continued, adding: They follow us not just because of the example of our power, but the power of our example.

“And look where we are now in the world — look how we’re viewed. They’re wondering, my lord, these things happen in tinhorn dictatorships. This is not the United States.”

He added: “So in that sense, a protocol of the transfer of power I think is important, but it is totally his decision and of no personal consequence to me, but I do think it is for the country.”

Inaugurations are steeped in tradition, with the outgoing president customarily inviting the incoming president to the White House for tea and then the two traveling together to the inauguration service.

The outgoing president then leaves Washington, DC, at the end of the service, marking the beginning of the next president’s first term.

Donald Trump and Barack Obama arriving at Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017.


J. Scott Applewhite / Pool / AP/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images



Members of Congress of both parties attend, as do all living former presidents and their partners. This caused some awkwardness at Trump’s inauguration in 2017, since his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, followed the tradition and attended as a former first lady.

It’s unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect these traditions this year, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising against mass gatherings.

Only a few presidents have been absent at their successor’s inauguration for political reasons.

John Adams wasn’t invited to Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration, John Quincy Adams moved out of the White House the day before Andrew Jackson’s inauguration, and Andrew Johnson continued to work at the White House signing legislation while Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in, according to CNN.

Source Article from https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-says-trump-should-attend-inauguration-personally-doesnt-care-2020-12

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Biden urges America to mask up for 100 days as coronavirus surges – CNN
Biden urges America to mask up for 100 days as coronavirus surges – CNN

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/03/politics/biden-harris-interview-covid-mask/index.html

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Biden backs $900B compromise coronavirus stimulus bill | TheHill – The Hill
Biden backs $900B compromise coronavirus stimulus bill | TheHill – The Hill

President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenBiden says GOP senators have called to congratulate him Biden: Trump attending inauguration is ‘of consequence’ to the country Biden says family will avoid business conflicts MORE on Thursday described the $900 billion congressional stimulus proposal as a “good start” and said he believed Congress should pass it.

“That would be a good start. It’s not enough,” Biden said during a Thursday interview with CNN host Jake TapperJacob (Jake) Paul TapperBiden says GOP senators have called to congratulate him Biden: Trump attending inauguration is ‘of consequence’ to the country Biden says family will avoid business conflicts MORE.

“I think it should be passed,” Biden continued. “I’m going to ask for more … when we get there to get things done.”

Congressional leaders have failed to reach an agreement on another round of stimulus after months of negotiations with the White House.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers earlier this week unveiled a $908 billion compromise bill amid increasing pressure on Congress to pass a stimulus package to help businesses and American workers affected by the coronavirus-induced economic recession.

The measure is lower than the $2.2 trillion proposal embraced by House Democrats and higher than the $500 billion measure backed by Senate Republicans.

Negotiations picked up steam on Thursday as Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiBiden backs 0B compromise coronavirus stimulus bill US records over 14 million coronavirus cases On The Money: COVID-19 relief picks up steam as McConnell, Pelosi hold talks | Slowing job growth raises fears of double-dip recession | Biden officially announces Brian Deese as top economic adviser MORE (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellBiden backs 0B compromise coronavirus stimulus bill US records over 14 million coronavirus cases On The Money: COVID-19 relief picks up steam as McConnell, Pelosi hold talks | Slowing job growth raises fears of double-dip recession | Biden officially announces Brian Deese as top economic adviser MORE (R-Ky.) held talks about reaching a deal.

Trump also signaled Thursday that he would sign a coronavirus relief deal if Congress could pass one by year’s end.

“I want it to happen, and I believe they’re getting very close to a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former football coach Lou Holtz.

Biden has called on Congress to pass a relief measure during the lame-duck session, but acknowledged it would likely fall short of the amount needed to help prop up the ailing economy amid the pandemic, which is surging across the country.

During an event where he unveiled his economic team on Tuesday, Biden said that “any package passed in lame-duck session is — at best — just a start.”

Biden on Thursday said that lawmakers should pass a deal that provides immediate assistance in the form of unemployment assistance and mortgage payment and rent relief.

Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/528719-biden-backs-900b-compromise-coronavirus-stimulus-bill

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Kushner attorney investigated in alleged bribery-for-pardon scheme – Business Insider – Business Insider
Kushner attorney investigated in alleged bribery-for-pardon scheme – Business Insider – Business Insider
  • The US Department of Justice investigated an attorney for Jared Kushner in connection with an alleged bribery-for-pardon scheme, The New York Times reported.
  • As Business Insider reported, a US judge released documents this week showing that federal investigators were concerned about an alleged “bribery conspiracy scheme” to obtain a presidential pardon.
  • According to The Times’ reporting, the suspected scheme involved a billionaire real estate developer, Sanford Diller, who sought to secure clemency for a man named Hugh Baras, who had been convicted of tax evasion.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A billionaire real estate developer enlisted an attorney for Jared Kushner and a fundraiser for President Donald Trump in a suspected scheme to obtain a presidential pardon via bribery, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Earlier this week, a federal judge released documents showing that the Department of Justice was investigating a “bribery conspiracy scheme” this past summer. The names of the suspects were redacted and no one has been charged with a crime.

The status of the investigation is unknown.

In a statement on Wednesday, a DOJ official told Business Insider that “No government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation disclosed in this filing.”

According to The Times, the investigation began after a billionaire, Sanford Diller, enlisted the help of Abbe Lowell, an attorney for the president’s son-in-law, and Elliott Broidy, a Trump campaign fundraiser. Diller was seeking clemency for a man, Hugh Baras, who had been convicted of tax evasion and Social Security fraud, the paper reported.

Diller died in February 2018, “and there is no evidence that the effort continued after his death,” The Times said.

Court documents suggested the effort, which included an appeal to the White House Counsel’s Office, included an offer of a “substantial political contribution” in exchange for a pardon.

An attorney for Lowell, however, told The Times that no bribe was ever paid. Baras has not received clemency, the Times noted. An attorney for Baras told The Times that he was not representing him “for the purposes of a pardon.” 

In 2017, Lowell made headlines after falling for a prankster imitating his client, Jared Kushner. In an email exchange, Lowell offered the faux-Kushner advice on how to abide by laws governing official correspondence in his role as a White House advisor.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Source Article from https://www.businessinsider.com/kushner-attorney-investigated-in-alleged-bribery-for-pardon-scheme-2020-12

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Trump To Rally In Georgia While Hinting At A 2024 Run – NPR
Trump To Rally In Georgia While Hinting At A 2024 Run – NPR

President Trump, seen at a Nov. 1 rally in Rome, Ga., will return to the state to campaign for Republicans in Senate runoffs as he seriously considers another bid for the White House. Other possible 2024 GOP candidates have campaigned in Georgia recently.

Evan Vucci/AP


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President Trump, seen at a Nov. 1 rally in Rome, Ga., will return to the state to campaign for Republicans in Senate runoffs as he seriously considers another bid for the White House. Other possible 2024 GOP candidates have campaigned in Georgia recently.

Evan Vucci/AP

Georgia is a state where the 2020 elections haven’t ended yet, but the 2024 presidential race may already be underway.

Republicans with an eye on the White House in four years are hitting the trail on behalf of the two Republican senators trying to save their seats in runoff elections, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Among those showing up in recent weeks to lend a hand have been Vice President Pence, Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Others have helped out from afar, through fundraising and other means, such as former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who ran second to President Trump in the 2016 primaries, said he’ll be there soon enough.

Since control of the U.S. Senate is on the line in Georgia, it’s the biggest political stage for candidates who want visibility and to make some new influential friends in a newly minted swing state, all of which may come in handy for an eventual run at the GOP presidential nomination.

But they could all be overshadowed when Trump travels there to campaign Saturday for Perdue and Loeffler at his first rally since losing the election, including the state of Georgia, to Joe Biden.

It could also represent the first rally of a possible 2024 comeback bid, which some of the president’s allies think would box out other Republicans looking to take the mantle in a post-Trump GOP.

None of the aforementioned is an official candidate for 2024 — not yet, anyway. But none is discouraging such talk, and each is on the list of those expected to explore a run seriously.

Why Trump’s presence gets complicated

As soon as it was clear that Georgia’s Senate races would be decided by runoffs, Republicans in the state urged Trump to hold a rally to help out the endangered incumbents. The logic, according to political scientist Susan MacManus of the University of South Florida, was that even though he’d lost the state, Trump would still drive turnout and ensure successful runoffs for the Republicans.

But that simple plan has gotten complicated.

Angry over his loss to Biden in Georgia, Trump is falsely alleging that the state was stolen from him and that Democrats are guilty of fraud.

Pence had to walk a bit of a tightrope during his visit because of that. He warned of the dangers he sees in a Democratic Senate majority, but he couldn’t explicitly acknowledge that the Trump-Pence ticket had lost.

“I can tell you as our election contests continue, here in Georgia and in courts across the country, I’ll make you [a] promise. We’re going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted,” Pence said.

Trump is angry with GOP officials who have defended the integrity of Georgia’s elections. That has set off an internal battle within the state as Republicans choose sides, at the exact moment they need to be unified in the runoff elections.

Against this backdrop, Trump heads to a rally Saturday in Valdosta, Ga., near the Florida state line.

“He’s going down there primarily to help these two Republicans who are in very, very tight, nail-biter runoffs,” MacManus said.

But Trump’s Twitter feed, and even his appearance this week in a 46-minute video address from the White House, have been consumed by his grievances over losing the election.

“The question is will that alienate some people who would just be tired of all of that and say, ‘It’s just not worth it to me,’ and not vote, which is the worst thing that could happen to the two Republicans running,” MacManus said, adding it’s possible that Trump, by highlighting his own agenda, could do as much harm as he does good.

A frozen field

It’s not clear that Trump is set on running again, but there is plenty of reason for him to keep the option open even if he is not, including the ability to raise millions of dollars in donations for a possible run.

It’s a difficult situation for other Republicans who want to succeed Trump but may not want to challenge him should he seek the 2024 GOP nomination.

Rick Tyler, a former top official in Cruz’s 2016 campaign who is among the cadre of high-profile Republicans who call themselves “never Trumpers,” said it’s impossible to know what kind of political clout Trump will be able to sustain as a former president.

But he said it does create some real problems right now for others trying to get some early traction. Tyler said it’ll be tough for any other GOP hopeful to be taken seriously, to receive real media attention or to get early commitments from talented campaign advisers and fundraisers with a Trump campaign looming.

So, what advice would he give a prospective 2024 candidate about the opportunity created by the Georgia races?

“You have to go,” he said. “It’s unforgivable not to go. But here’s the problem: As long as Donald Trump tries to maintain control of the Republican Party and begins to flirt with a 2024 race on his own, the rest of the field will remain as frozen as a COVID vaccine.”

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2020/12/04/942053653/georgia-senate-runoffs-lure-possible-2024-gop-hopefuls-including-trump

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Biden’s Mask Plea Stirs Outrage Among Trump Supporters as COVID Cases Top 14 Million – Newsweek
Biden’s Mask Plea Stirs Outrage Among Trump Supporters as COVID Cases Top 14 Million – Newsweek

President-elect Joe Biden‘s plea for Americans to wear masks for 100 days was met with anger and defiance from supporters of President Donald Trump, underscoring the challenge of fighting a politicized pandemic in a deeply divided nation.

As cases of COVID-19 surged past 14 million, Biden’s opponents flooded social media with posts that questioned the science behind the mask appeal and other government responses that have wrecked the economy and constrained civil liberties.

Most experts recommend mask wearing and social distancing among a number of effective ways to control the spread of the virus that by December 3, had infected 14,535,196 people in the United States and killed 282,829, the most anywhere in the world.

“The first day I’m inaugurated to say I’m going to ask the public for 100 days to mask,” Biden said in an interview broadcast Thursday on CNN. “Just 100 days to mask, not forever. One hundred days.”

“And I think we’ll see a significant reduction if we occur that, if that occurs with vaccinations and masking to drive down the numbers considerably,” Biden added.

Biden’s suggestion did not sit well with some conservatives who tweeted their disagreement with the 100-day long mask mandate.

“Joe Biden asks everyone in America to wear a mask for his first 100 days like most people haven’t been wearing them FOR THE PAST SIX MONTHS,” tweeted Daily Caller reporter Scott Morefield.

“Just more proof that face masks are a religious cult at this point,” Morefield added. “No amount of data will ever change the minds of these fanatics.”

“Biden says he will ask Americans to wear face masks during the first 100 days of his administration,” tweeted author and radio host Todd Starnes. “I’m not sure that’s enough to stifle the stench of his leftist, America-Last agenda.”

“WE WILL NOT COMPLY!” tweeted Georgia Congresswoman-elect Majorie Taylor Greene.

President-elect Joe Biden’s Thursday statement that he would ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days after he takes over the presidency was criticized on social media by some who disagreed with the idea.
Alex Wong/Getty

“Where it started: ’15 days to slow the spread'” tweeted reporter for the conservative Blaze television network Elijah Schaffer. “How it’s going: ‘just 100 days to mask. Not forever'”.

“utterly pathetic: Biden wants mask-wearing for “first 100 days” – @CNN,” tweeted British political commentator Steve Hilton. “what “science” or “data” is 100 days based on? none it’s pure BS, plucked out of thin air by some PR idiot”

“everything Biden says about the virus is for politics, not public health,” Hilton added. “he has zero credibility”

Newsweek reached out to Biden’s transition team for comment.

President Donald Trump, who has often been seen without a face mask, has implied that Biden’s propensity for wearing face masks was unnecessary.

“I don’t wear masks like him,” Trump said during the first presidential debate in September. “Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”

Because of the current increase in positive COVID-19 cases, some states have declared plans to put more safety protocols in place. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the 5 regions of his state would be placed under a stay-at-home order for three weeks if bed availability in intensive care units within the regions fell below a 15 percent capacity. “This is the most challenging moment since the beginning of this pandemic,” Newsom said in a Thursday news conference.

In the state of Florida, where more than 1 million positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported, Governor Ron DeSantis has declined to enact a statewide mask mandate. “I’m opposed to mandates, period,” DeSantis said during a Monday briefing. “I don’t think they work.”

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Source Article from https://www.newsweek.com/bidens-mask-plea-stirs-outrage-among-trump-supporters-covid-cases-top-14-million-1552283

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Fauci to meet with Biden team for first time Thursday | TheHill – The Hill
Fauci to meet with Biden team for first time Thursday | TheHill – The Hill

The nation’s top infectious diseases expert Anthony FauciAnthony FauciPompeo to host indoor holiday parties at State Department despite warning to employees to hold some missions virtually Obama says he may take coronavirus vaccine on TV to build trust in it McEnany hits Democratic leaders for not following their own COVID-19 restrictions MORE on Thursday said he is set to virtually meet with President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenLawsuit alleges 200K Georgia voters were wrongly purged from registration list GOP lawmaker blasts incoming freshman over allegations of presidential voter fraud Haaland has competition to be first Native American to lead Interior  MORE‘s team later in the day. 

“I’m going to be meeting with them today, by Zoom, by virtually. So today will be the first day where there will be substantive discussions about the transition between me and the Biden team,” Fauci told CBS News’s Major Garrett on The Takeout podcast. “I’m very pleased that today we’re having the first discussion about a number of things, vaccinations and things like that.”

Biden and Fauci have not spoken directly. The doctor, however, said he has had conversations with Biden’s incoming chief of staff Ron Klain, but added the conversations were not “substantive.” 

Fauci told Garrett that he wished the presidential transition process had happened sooner. 

“I would have liked to have seen us getting involved with the team as early as we possibly can because we want the smooth transition to occur,” he said. “Everyone believes that a smooth transition is certainly better than no transition.”

Fauci’s meeting with Biden’s team comes as public health officials, including Fauci, warn that coronavirus cases are likely to spike even more during the holiday season. 

But there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. The United Kingdom approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use earlier this week, becoming the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine.

The first vaccines for the virus are expected to receive emergency use authorization in the U.S. this month. Officials have said the first doses will go to front-line health care workers and at-risk populations.

Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/528542-fauci-to-meet-with-biden-team-for-first-time-today

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Trump raises more than $207 million since Election Day as he pushes baseless election fraud claims – CNN
Trump raises more than $207 million since Election Day as he pushes baseless election fraud claims – CNN

By Fredreka Schouten

Updated 12:01 AM ET, Fri December 4, 2020

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/03/politics/trump-fundraising-election-day/index.html

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Biden plans to ask Americans to wear masks for first 100 days in office, says Fauci will be chief medical adviser – Boston.com
Biden plans to ask Americans to wear masks for first 100 days in office, says Fauci will be chief medical adviser – Boston.com

President-elect Joe Biden says he is keeping Dr. Anthony Fauci on as a chief medical adviser and a member of his COVID-19 advisory team.

Biden made the comments Thursday during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. He said he spoke with Fauci earlier in the day about the need to instill confidence in any coronavirus vaccine and the fact that “you don’t have to close down the economy” to combat the virus.

Biden says he’d be “happy” to get a vaccine in public to prove its safety.

The president-elect also said he would ask the public to wear masks for 100 days to help drive down the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 275,000 Americans.

Get Boston.com’s e-mail alerts:

Sign up and receive coronavirus news and breaking updates, from our newsroom to your inbox.

Source Article from https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2020/12/03/biden-masks-100-days-fauci

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U.S. Is Said in Talks to Resolve Charges Against Huawei’s CFO – Bloomberg
U.S. Is Said in Talks to Resolve Charges Against Huawei’s CFO – Bloomberg

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Source Article from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-03/u-s-in-talks-with-huawei-s-meng-to-resolve-charges-dj

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Second stimulus check updates: Optimism grows as House Democrats promise some measure of COVID relief before the holidays – Chicago Tribune
Second stimulus check updates: Optimism grows as House Democrats promise some measure of COVID relief before the holidays – Chicago Tribune

Later, McConnell met with Republicans who are working the scaled-back, bipartisan measure, including Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Across Capitol Hill, an allied bipartisan “problem solvers” group claimed growing momentum at an outdoor news conference.

Source Article from https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-second-coronavirus-stimulus-check-updates-20201203-f4u23mdrevhrxgi3q532wjhb2e-story.html

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CNN Exclusive: Biden says he will ask Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days he’s in office – CNN
CNN Exclusive: Biden says he will ask Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days he’s in office – CNN

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/03/politics/biden-harris-interview-jake-tapper/index.html

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New California stay-at-home order may force Bay Area restaurants to close outdoor dining this month – San Francisco Chronicle
New California stay-at-home order may force Bay Area restaurants to close outdoor dining this month – San Francisco Chronicle

Outdoor and indoor dining could be banned in certain California regions under a new stay-at-home order likely taking effect in the coming weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday. Bars and wineries would have to temporarily close altogether.

The new three-week order breaks up the state into five regions and would go into effect 48 hours after a region’s intensive care unit capacity drops below 15% — as of now, no regions in California meet that metric.

But Newsom warned the Bay Area region — defined here as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties — is projected to fall below 15% in mid- to late-December. He said the four other regions are projected to hit that metric even earlier, by early December. The news comes after days of swirling rumors about a new lockdown.

While on-site dining would be banned, restaurants in affected areas could remain open for takeout and delivery, as they’re considered essential services.

“As a restaurateur myself… I deeply empathize and I have deep appreciation for the stress and the struggles our restaurants have had,” Newsom said.

The order also requires that grocery stores and other retailers in those regions operate at 20% capacity, while schools can reopen for in-person classes if they receive a waiver. Here’s more on the rules.

“This is the final surge,” he later added. “We have a light at the end of the tunnel with these vaccines but we need to take seriously this moment.”

It’s the latest blow for a restaurant industry that’s been clinging to survival for months. In most Bay Area counties, restaurants were able to reopen for outdoor dining this summer and then add indoor dining in the fall — some had only just begun welcoming diners inside when the majority of counties banned indoor dining in November amid skyrocketing coronavirus cases.

In some counties, such as Sonoma and San Mateo, there was even more back-and-forth, with restaurants opening, closing, opening and closing again. Because of the challenging landscape and increasingly cold weather making outdoor dining less attractive, many San Francisco restaurant owners have been considering going into “hibernation,” or temporarily closing for the winter in the hopes of reemerging later.

The steady allowance of outdoor dining, however, had been a lifeline for many restaurants. In the Richmond District, neighborhood spot Cassava estimated 50% of the restaurant’s business has been outdoor dining. Financial District power lunch spot the Vault opened an all-outdoor restaurant, the Vault Garden, to great success — and it recently spent thousands on a giant transparent tent, heat lamps and decor to make the space feel like a winter wonderland. Even on the less elaborate end, restaurant parklets typically cost $10,000-$30,000.

The start of the pandemic saw Bay Area restaurants pivot to meal kits, frozen food and comforting takeout fare, like sandwiches from two Michelin-starred Lazy Bear. When outdoor dining became allowed, many stopped offering the items geared toward folks staying at home.

This story is developing.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker

Source Article from https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/New-California-lockdown-order-may-force-Bay-Area-15773735.php

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Tulsi Gabbard urges Senate to vote ‘NO’ on this Biden cabinet pick – Fox News
Tulsi Gabbard urges Senate to vote ‘NO’ on this Biden cabinet pick – Fox News
Video

Bipartisan support for proposed $908B coronavirus relief measure

Congress nears government funding deadline as virus relief dominates discussion; Chad Pergram reports.

Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is urging her fellow lawmakers in the Senate to block President-elect Joe Biden‘s pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Neera Tanden. 

TULSI GABBARD URGES TRUMP NOT TO ‘BACK DOWN’ AGAINST BIG TECH

“Neera Tanden’s ‘think tank’ took millions from WallStreet, UAE, & defense contractors. She advocated taking Libya’s oil to pay for bombs we destroyed their country with. At OMB she’ll support more costly regime change wars & military industrial complex. Senators, I urge a NO vote,” Gabbard said in a post on Twitter. 

Tanden, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, has been the chief executive officer and president of the Center for American Progress since 2011.

Her opponents have pointed to the millions of dollars her think tank has taken from controversial donors such as the United Arab Emirates – a country known for its poor human rights record.

BIDEN PICK OVERSAW FLOOD OF FOREIGN MONEY INTO LIBERAL THINK TANK

Between 2014 and 2018, CAP received between $1.5 million and $3 million from the UAE, according to a report from Center for International Policy, a foreign policy research think tank. But early last year, the group said it was no longer accepting UAE’s money.

Tanden and Gabbard have had previous dust-ups, including in 2016 when they traded Twitter barbs about their disagreement about intervening in Syria. 

The two seemed to bury the hatchet earlier this year, after Tanden commended Gabbard, a former Democratic presidential hopefully, for endorsing Biden’s ticket. 

But the Hawaii House member’s most recent comments regarding Tanden threaten to derail Biden’s pick, particularly with the balance of power in the Senate so close. 

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Tanden needs to garner 51 votes in the Senate to be confirmed to the OMB post, but Democrats are currently lagging behind Republicans 48-50. Democrats are hoping to pick up two seats in the Georgia runoffs come March, which would then throw any tiebreaker votes to Vice Presidential-elect Kamala Harris for a decision. 

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tulsi-gabbard-urges-senate-to-vote-no-on-this-biden-cabinet-pick

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