Washington’s post-election “Kumbaya” moment lasted all of about two hours on Wednesday, when talk of bipartisanship and unity was shattered by President Trump’s announcement that he had ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The Hill: Sessions out at Justice Department. READ: Sessions’s resignation letter. Lawmakers were still assessing the political fallout from Tuesday’s midterm elections when news of Sessions’ ouster spread across Washington, reigniting fears on both sides of the aisle that the move was an effort by Trump to interfere with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. © Twitter © Twitter Trump has installed former U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general. Whitaker most recently served as Sessions’s chief of staff. The Department of Justice says Whitaker, not Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, will oversee Mueller’s probe going forward. The Hill: 5 things to know about the new acting attorney general. The New York Times: Sessions executed the agenda of a president who could not look past an early betrayal. © Getty Images Earlier in the day, at a freewheeling and contentious East Room press conference, the president said that if he wanted to fire Mueller, he could, but that he doesn’t intend to do so at this time. Still, Democrats leaped into action, demanding that Whitaker recuse himself from the Mueller probe – he’s written op-eds in the past that were critical of the investigation – and warning the president against further actions. Whitaker: Mueller’s investigation of Trump has gone too far. Whitaker (writing for The Hill): Trump was right to fire former FBI Director James Comey. The difference now is that Democrats will take control of the House in January. Passing legislation to protect Mueller could be one of the first actions Democrats take under the leadership of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who expects be the next Speaker of the House. © Twitter The New York Times (editorial board): Trump strikes at Justice, installs lawman he can control. Meanwhile, party leaders on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue were scrambling to adjust to the new political landscape and fallout from the Nov. 6 elections. At a nearly 90-minute press conference from the White House, Trump took the unusual step of publicly mocking moderate Republican candidates who lost elections to Democrats on Tuesday, asserting they should have been more loyal to him to woo voters. The president said he was optimistic he could work with “Nancy,” but warned Democrats that if they use their oversight powers to investigate his administration he’d retaliate with a “war-like posture” and investigations of his own. “They can play that game, but we can play it better.” — Trump The Hill: Trump seeks to show he’s in charge of Washington. Pelosi held her own press conference – it had to be delayed because Trump’s ran so long – in which she insisted Democrats would not be solely focused on investigating the president, and rather would look for areas of bipartisan agreement, while remaining focused on kitchen-table policy issues, including health care. Still, Pelosi said the Democrats do not “intend to abandon or relinquish our responsibility” for oversight in the new Congress. “This doesn't mean we go looking for a fight. But if we need to go forward, we will.” — Pelosi The Associated Press: Newly empowered Dems take aim at Trump business conflicts Bloomberg: Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) says Democrats will probe Trump’s bank ties. As the drama unfolded, election returns from tight races rolled in from across the country and lawmakers positioned themselves for leadership positions in the next Congress. And Trump and CNN clashed (again) in the East Room, leading the press office to revoke White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s media credential (The Hill). The White House Correspondents’ Association issued a statement calling the suspension of the journalist’s Secret Service pass “a reaction out of line to the purported offense and ... unacceptable,” and CNN and Acosta protested (The Hill). Here’s a look ahead after another chaotic day in Washington… |
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