Thread by @JakeSherman

Playbook PM: It seems like Joe Biden is going to win, as of now, so let's get back to focusing on Congress and governing, ok?

the 4 things we're thinking about:

1) WILL THERE BE A COVID RELIEF DEAL? At our last check, Speaker NANCY PELOSI was holding ultimately fruitless negotiations with Washington’s Most Eager Man, Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN, over $1.8 trillion in Covid relief.

The talks blew up for many reasons, but the overarching dynamic was MNUCHIN kept acceding to PELOSI, which gave PELOSI the ultimately correct feeling that he was going to fold and she could keep pushing him for more. Hence the name “Washington’s Most Eager Man.”

BUT THIS ELECTION -- and the almost certain BIDEN victory -- has changed the dynamics on Capitol Hill, and Covid relief has a prayer in the lame duck. Here’s why: Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL has said he wants a deal this year. So that signals to us he’ll push for one

PELOSI called for Republicans to re-enter negotiations this morning, which is a sign she’s ready to get down to business. We have no idea what the TRUMP administration will do now that they have likely lost.

BUT IT SEEMS TO BE in everyone’s interest. MCCONNELL will get a better deal with TRUMP in the White House. PELOSI can clear some underbrush out for BIDEN and his administration. And, presumably, the TRUMP administration can realize they can get a few wins on their way out

THE DEAL will probably need to be decidedly smaller than $1.8 trillion -- probably somewhere between $500 billion and $1 trillion. And if supporters of a deal were smart, they would make sure they got it before a government funding bill on Dec. 11.

BUT … there are early signs of disagreement. PELOSI said a smaller bill “doesn’t appeal to me at all. Because they haven’t agreed to crush the virus.”

2) HOW WILL DEMS VIEW THEIR MANDATE? At the end of the day, it seems like BIDEN will win more than 300 electoral votes, which isn’t winning by a hair, but it’s also not winning in a walk.

He’s the first president in decades to begin his presidency without both chambers of Congress, which will limit his ability to execute some of his agenda. Democrats seem to believe that he has a massive mandate. PELOSI said this morning that BIDEN has a bigger mandate than JFK

3) WILL ANY HILL DEM BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR BIG MISSES? There is a lot of debate about how bad it is that Democrats lost seats in the House and failed to win the Senate even as BIDEN bested TRUMP for the White House. Democrats will just rubber-stamp much of their ldrshp

4) HOW WILL TRUMP EXIT? THIS IS THE BIG QUESTION, right? If TRUMP does lose, he still has another 75 DAYS from today to Inauguration Day. Will he participate in the transition? He won’t have a ton of leverage with a Congress he never really had much skill with.

But he can commute, pardon, issue executive orders, etc. Will he fire people like ANTHONY FAUCI? How about FBI Director CHRIS WRAY, CIA Director GINA HASPEL or Defense Secretary MARK ESPER? WaPo’s Josh Rogin says an ESPER firing could come as early as TODAY.