Thread by @KevinMKruse

Also, I think it's worth reflecting on McConnell's reasons for immediately claiming that he'll be a brake on a Biden presidency.

Two stand out ...

https://twitter.com/ddayen/status/1324716273574371328

First and foremost, he doesn't technically *have* the Senate majority yet, and we're about to have a runoff for two pivotal seats in Georgia.

Portraying those seats as the key to the GOP checking the power of a Democratic White House is an obvious strategy they'll use there.

So drawing a line in the sand on Cabinet appointments -- however real that might be -- is a smart political move for McConnell, as it will help rally Republicans to vote for Perdue and Loeffler.

(Democrats of course need to counter, making clear what a Dem Senate would mean.)

But there's a second reason I think McConnell is making these noises right away.

He knows that a lame-duck Trump is going to be a disaster, for the country generally and for the Republican Party specifically.

We just had the worst day yet for COVID cases, and that's only going to get worse as winter sets in.

As that crisis deepens, and ripples through the economy too, Trump is going to go further and further off the rails, whining more and working less.

By the time Inauguration Day rolls around, Trump's standing will be even worse than it is in the moment of his defeat, dragging down GOP standing across the board. The afterglow they're feeling of withstanding this election will have dimmed considerably by then.

To be sure, if they pull off the GA races, McConnell will absolutely be able to block a lot of Biden's agenda.

But when January rolls around, I don't think he'll have much public support for open obstructionism like this.

We'll see.