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1. GOP backs Trump’s election challenge

• Top Republicans say President Donald Trump is entirely justified in challenging the close election results that on Saturday showed him losing the White House to Democrat Joe Biden.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday Trump is “100% within his rights” to question the election results and that it wouldn’t cause a “constitutional crisis” to do so.
• “Our institutions are actually built for this,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate. “We have the system in place to consider concerns and President Trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options.
• “Let’s not have any lectures, no lectures, about how the president should immediately, cheerfully accept preliminary election results from the same characters who just spent four years refusing to accept the validity of the last election and who insinuated that this one would be illegitimate too if they lost again — only if they lost,” McConnell said.
• Trump has declined to concede the presidential race and is mounting legal fights in several states, but there has been no indication or evidence of voter irregularities or widespread fraud in the election.
• Privately, Republicans on Capitol Hill say they are in a tough spot, wary of crossing Trump and his most ardent supporters. They know it is politically wise to let the challenges and recounts play out understanding the likelihood of an overturned election is low. The head of the General Services Administration under Trump has held off on formally beginning the Biden transition to the White House.
• Read more on that HERE.
• Meanwhile, Biden is moving to fill out his cabinet with some familiar names.
• Ron Klain is an early favorite to become Biden’s chief of staff (bonus points to listeners of the West Wing Weekly podcast who remember Klain). Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a longtime Biden ally and friend, is seen as a potential choice for secretary of state. Roger Ferguson, who served as vice chair of the Federal Reserve under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, is a potential treasury secretary, while Michele Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense, is seen as a top pick to lead the Pentagon.
• Also, despite his early insistence that he didn’t want the job, Sen. Doug Jones is still being talked about for Attorney General.
• Read more about the potential cabinet HERE.

 

 

2. Ivey pardons turkeys, talks politics

• Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday pardoned a couple of turkeys in an Alabama Thanksgiving tradition that goes back more than 70 years. But after an election that has been anything but traditional, talk quickly turned to politics.
• Ivey wouldn’t say if she accepts or rejects Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election win over President Donald Trump as called by multiple media organizations, including the Associated Press, but rather emphasized the need for the process to play out.
• “When every legal vote has been counted, it will be final and we want to be sure that every legal vote is counted,” Ivey said.
• “President Trump is certainly within his right to challenge that, because we all want to be sure that we all had a fair and safe and free election,” Ivey said when asked if she was concerned votes weren’t being counted,
• Ivey also said she expects Alabama’s soon to be senator Tommy Tuberville and new House delegation members Jerry Carl and Barry Moore to work well with a Biden administration.
• “Alabama folks work well with people,” Ivey said. “We work to get things done, not to be divisive.”
• Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation weren’t ready to call the election over, either, but some told ADN they would go to Washington ready to work either way.
• “Regardless of who ultimately wins this election, my commitment to the people of south Alabama remains unchanged,” said incoming AL-1 Congressman Carl. “I will work to establish and maintain a productive relationship with the White House so that I can fight for my constituents and best do the job they elected me to do.”
• Read more from ADN’s Caroline Beck HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

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3. COVID-19 hospitalizations up more than 45% in Alabama

• Hospitalizations from COVID-19 have increased more than 45% in the last month in Alabama, reaching a level by Monday not seen since the illness caused by the new coronavirus was raging through the state in the summer.
• Statistics released by the Alabama Department of Public Health showed 1,174 people hospitalized with the disease after the weekend, or roughly the same number as in mid-August when caseloads spiked following the July 4 holiday. A month ago, 801 were hospitalized, records showed.
• Around 1,600 people were hospitalized at a time in late July and early August when the pandemic was at its worst in the state after the holiday. The situation improved after Gov. Kay Ivey required mask use in public, but numbers are worsening again across much of the nation.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

4. SCOTUS hears Obamacare arguments

• Today the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
• When it was passed in 2009, the ACA hinged on the individual mandate, a requirement that all Americans have some kind of health insurance plan or else face a financial penalty.
• Upholding the law in 2012, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, said the individual mandate amounted to a tax, making the law constitutional because Congress has the power to tax.
• And finally, in 2017, Congress repealed the individual mandate as part of the Trump tax cuts.
• So, now, in an amazingly named California v. Texas case, the court will grapple over whether Obamacare remains constitutional despite its core tenet, the individual mandate, no longer existing.
• Should the court strike down the law, more than 20 million people could see their heath care in jeopardy, either through the marketplaces set up under the ACA or expanded Medicaid plans incentivized by the federal government.
• That would put pressure on Congress to act to protect coverage in the short term as a longer term solution is debated.
• Many scholars are saying the court is unlikely to take a strict stand on severability and throw out the baby with the bathwater.
• Either way, remember today is just oral arguments and a decision won’t come down until Spring at the earliest.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

5. Special session talk

• “Hey, what are you hearing about a special session?”
• That question has been asked over and over again since the Legislature adjourned a 2020 Regular Session curtailed by COVID-19.
• Several important pieces of legislation were put on the shelf back in May with the thought that the Legislature was likely to return later in the year to complete unfinished business.
• But, as the coronavirus spread, including to several state lawmakers, it has appeared less and less likely that a special session would be possible before the end of the year.
• That’s a problem because some of those “must pass” bills needed to get done before the end of the calendar year, including renewal of the Alabama Jobs Act and a procedural bill to make sure residents and businesses aren’t taxed on COVID-19 funding they receive.
• Alas, yesterday, Gov. Kay Ivey and state lawmakers had a conference call to discuss the possibility of a special session before the end of the year.
• ADN Insiders can read more of that from ADN’s Mary Sell HERE. (Existing Inside Alabama Politics subscribers are automatically ADN Insiders)
• Not a ADN Insider? You can subscribe HERE. And remember new subscribers get a free mug!

 

 

Headlines

INSIDE ALABAMA POLITICS – November 6, 2020

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ivey, lawmakers talk special session (ADN Insider Subscription)

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – McConnell, other Republicans say Trump OK to fight election

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Biden eyes Washington veterans for key administration posts

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ivey says votes must be counted, but remains confident in delegation working with Biden

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – COVID-19 hospitalizations up more than 45% in Alabama

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine is looking 90% effective

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Without Ginsburg, high court support for health law in doubt

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Fight for Senate control awaits in Georgia

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – New APT documentary explores early Republican Jim Martin

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Lee County DA indicted on alleged ethics, theft charges

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – November 9, 2020

 

AL.COM – Buffalo Rock announces $75 million Birmingham expansion

 

AL.COM – Coronavirus hospitalizations up 23% in North Alabama

 

AL.COM – Alabama U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell: Recounts will only add to Biden-Harris lead

 

AL.COM – 9 FBI buildings under construction to house thousands of workers at Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal

 

AL.COM – Hyundai adds fifth vehicle to Montgomery production line

 

AL.COM – Biden will call on governors to enact coronavirus mask mandates; Alabama’s order expires Dec. 11

 

AL.COM – Terminix $60 million settlement: How and when customers will get relief for damages

 

AL.COM – Disabled veteran imprisoned in Alabama for medical marijuana possession released

 

AL.COM – More Alabama schools go virtual due to COVID-19

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Montgomery County dedicates new Elton Dean Park

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Montgomery County names new park for longtime leader Elton Dean

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Lee County DA Brandon Hughes arrested in Montgomery on second perjury charge

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Alabama vaccine director estimates timeline on herd immunity after Pfizer vaccine news

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Large groups of any kind, even masked, risk spreading COVID-19

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Massive apartment fire in Woodlawn area

 

Tuscaloosa News – Grant will help bring 60 teachers to high-need schools

 

Tuscaloosa News – Poll workers sought for 2021 municipal election for council, school board members

 

Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa Veterans Day program will be drive-in only event

 

Decatur Daily – Community turns out for veterans

 

Decatur Daily – Construction for new vets museum expected to finish in January

 

Decatur Daily – Elkmont teen charged as adult in 2019 shooting deaths of 5 family members

 

Times Daily – Muscle Shoals accepting applications for library board position

 

Times Daily – Veterans Day will impact Tuscumbia garbage routes

 

Times Daily – Big jump reported in Shoals area COVID-19 cases

 

Anniston Star – Health workers will be first vaccinated under Alabama COVID plan

 

Anniston Star – Rural library system approved for bookmobile grant

 

Anniston Star – Heflin breakfast for veterans to be Wednesday

 

YellowHammer News – UAB expert Dr. Paul Goepfert: Pfizer vaccine report is ‘tremendous news’

 

YellowHammer News – Alabama secretary of state offering assistance to Georgia officials amid election turmoil

 

YellowHammer News – Alabama AG Marshall joins national fight for integrity of 2020 presidential election

 

Gadsden Times – Arrests take drugs, guns, money off street; conviction does the same for Boaz man

 

Gadsden Times – Amid Cabinet speculation, Doug Jones says he’ll support Joe Biden ‘in any way I can’

 

Gadsden Times – COVID-19 cases continue spike in Etowah County after record day

 

Dothan Eagle – Answer Man: Who decides which medicines are sold over the counter?

 

Dothan Eagle – Today in sports history: Penn State fires Joe Paterno over handling of child sex abuse accusations

 

Dothan Eagle – Estonia’s far-right minister resigns over Biden remarks

 

Opelika-Auburn News – District Attorney Brandon Hughes adds perjury charge in Montgomery

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Hong Kong journalist charged as press freedom fears grow

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Watch live: Auburn Mayor Ron Anders delivers State of the City Address

 

WSFA Montgomery – COVID-19 vaccine could come to Alabama soon

 

WSFA Montgomery – Proclamation marks local military appreciation

 

WSFA Montgomery – Millbrook police warn of uptick in property crimes

 

WAFF Huntsville – Huntsville City, Madison County Schools need more substitute teachers

 

WAFF Huntsville – LifeSouth hosts blood drive at Marshall Cancer Center to help with shortage

 

WAFF Huntsville – Veterans Memorial Park of Jackson County to host dedication ceremony on Saturday

 

WKRG Mobile – Neighbors with flooded homes demand change at Ferry Pass town hall

 

WKRG Mobile – Here’s where the Trump campaign lawsuits stand after the race was called for Biden

 

WKRG Mobile – Former Spanish Fort football star sentenced to 20 years for murder, Christmas Day shooting

 

WTVY Dothan – No Shave November: raising awareness for men’s health

 

WTVY Dothan – Man faces child porn charges after officers raid his home

 

WTVY Dothan – Doug Jones hints he would accept Biden appointment

 

WASHINGTON POST – Top Republicans back Trump’s efforts to challenge election results

 

WASHINGTON POST – Barr clears Justice Dept. to investigate alleged voting irregularities as Trump makes unfounded fraud claims

 

WASHINGTON POST – White House, escalating tensions, orders agencies to rebuff Biden transition team

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Republicans Back Trump’s Refusal to Concede, Declining to Recognize Biden

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Pandemic Reaches Grim Milestone as Biden Moves to Take Charge

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Thanksgiving Will Soon Empty Campuses. Will Students Bring Coronavirus Home?

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Trump Campaign Launches New Tactic in Legal Fight to Contest Election Results

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Joe Biden Kicks Off Transition Focused on Coronavirus

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – The Economy’s Struggles Will Shape Joe Biden’s Presidency

 

 

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