TRUMP doesn’t want to just lift the debt ceiling- he’s keen to get rid of it, telling me in a phone interview “The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge.”

He sees it as a fake thing. No real value re: debt control Does he still have confidence in @SpeakerJohnson? Maybe…

“We'll see. What they had yesterday was unacceptable," he told me, referring to the Speaker's continuing resolution. "In many ways it was unacceptable. It’s a Democrat trap."

Donald Trump attempts to walk back/clean up his weekend “termination” comments about constitutional rules & articles related to election, but in doing so doubles down on claim he should be declared 2020 winner or election re-run based on non-existent “massive & widespread fraud” .@LeaderMcConnell ignored my questions about this on his walk from his office to the Senate floor.

Hello from @GlennYoungkin’s election night party in Chantilly, VA. The bars are open, Fox News is on the monitors, and guests are clearly in the mood to celebrate. My sources in and around this campaign were all nerves today. Broadly speaking, they’re confident they ran the better campaign, and that McAuliffe misjudged the issues he chose to run on. Their concerns: math (is VA too blue now?) & timing (did they peak too soon & wake up Dems?)

"The Republicans want to participate," @GOPLeader says at his press conference this morning, trying to pre-but the Jan 6 select committee hearing later today. His argument is that the members Pelosi won't seat would ask the "tough questions" to expose why Capitol was unprepared. @GOPLeader Batting second at this presser, @SteveScalise says the two members Pelosi won't seat (for publicly undermining the committee's efforts) were "canceled."

On the floor now, @mtgreenee says she hasn't gotten the chance to properly introduce herself across the aisle. Says she's a "very regular American." @mtgreenee Greene is giving the full backstory of how she stumbled upon Q-Anon. Says she got there by Googling things about the Russia investigation in 2018. Says she didn't trust the government then. "A lot of Americans don't trust our government."

From the Impeachment Managers' Brief: "It is impossible to imagine the events of January 6 occurring without President Trump creating a powder keg, striking a match, and then seeking personal advantage from the ensuing havoc." On Constitutionality of trial after POTUS term ends: "The Constitution governs the first day of the President’s term, the last day, and every moment in between. Presidents do not get a free pass to commit high crimes and misdemeanors near the end of their term."

Has anyone seen or heard from Secretary @stevenmnuchin1 since last week? His negotiation on behalf of the President led to bipartisan bill, passed overwhelmingly, that the president won’t sign. How does he have the credibility to stay in that job? Or at least that role? It’s a serious question. Who in the Trump admin could walk into Pelosi’s or McConnell’s office right now and say: The President will sign X, and they’d believe it. Jared? Without that person, how does this manufactured crisis end before Jan 20?

Folks! The bill is on the move! The bill comes in at 5593 pages. Better get reading.

I keep thinking that Democrats have lost a messaging battle in fighting for shorthand "state and local" COVID aid money. If you hammer (and if the legislation reflects) that this is money to keep EMTs, firefighters and cops, etc employed, you're making a more compelling argument. Original framing of the HEROES act nailed this - supporting our heroes in the pandemic fight, but over time, the "state and local" shorthand for that portion of the bill has gotten a bit radioactive.

MCCONNELL says he and @GOPLeader have been in touch with Mnuchin & Meadows at the White House about a COVID relief bill that “the president would, in fact, sign” - so basically working backwards from Trump signature to something that could pass GOP senate. He doesn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about the bipartisan framework unveiled earlier today.

BREAKING: The president just pulled the plug on COVID relief negotiations until after the election.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1313551795646541824

Even if the president is re-elected, and if Republicans hold the Senate, AND if they take the House - the new congress isn't seated until January. If this holds, COVID relief/stimulus is now a long, long way off for Americans.

Sometimes it takes awhile for a Trump story/scandal to penetrate the general public. Take this totally anecdotal observation for what it’s worth, but the first two voters I’ve interviewed at polling place in Warren, MI today brought up the transfer of power comments unprompted. Here's Valerie, a hospital lab tech, on those comments: "I was shocked. I feel as though what -- how could he not? If you're voted out dude, you just gotta walk out. And I mean you can't just fight it. What's the-- that's a child. You know what I mean? He's acting like a child."

I cannot describe how surreal it is to watch President Trump give his generic rally speech tonight in Minnesota. Meanwhile the entire political earth has shifted under his feet while he’s been on stage, and he has no idea. Trump is telling a story about the Battle of Gettysburg and someone in the crowd just yelled “Ginsburg just died!” The crowd near the shouter has hushed. The President didn’t appear to hear it.

Hello from Winston-Salem, NC where hundreds await @realDonaldTrump at an outdoor rally. Attendees have their temperature checked as they arrive, & signs encourage mask-wearing. I’d say ~10% are wearing masks. No distancing to speak of. Outdoor events in NC are capped at 50 people NC just moved to phase 2.5 of their reopening last week, which includes the 50 person max for any gathering. I looked to see if there was an exception for political events, but couldn’t find one published by @ncdhhs

Hello from @realDonaldTrump’s rally in Latrobe, PA. Temperature checks and masks are required for entry, but vast majority of the several hundred folks waiting have already removed them. Seats set w/ no space between. Venue is an open-sided airplane hangar. Warming up the crowd in Latrobe is @RepJohnJoyce, who says Western PA will be the “steel curtain behind President Trump.”

It’s Election Day in Massachusetts & @joekennedy is stopping at a polling place in Dorchester - one stop of many today as he tries to unseat @EdMarkey tonight. Some takeaways from voters in this heavily African American precinct:

- Highly unscientific sample, most voters here breaking for Kennedy.
- “Social justice is in his blood,” one voter told me. Family history matters.
- Kennedy voters don’t dislike Markey, just want change.

I’m on the protest beat outside the White House tonight. Will try to keep this threaded. As of 8:40, there are a few hundred people on BLM plaza, representing several different groups and just themselves. It’s a block party vibe. Unlike the Late May, early June protests here there is no visible federal law enforcement, just @DCPoliceDept keeping cross-streets closed. The focus is President Trump, not police. It is overall a much much calmer scene.

After eight days in Texas and a handful of flights I’m back in DC & going for a COVID test this morning. The woman in line in front of me tells me it’s easy. She took a test June 29 here too... and never got results back. Not inspiring confidence so far. The woman checking me in says my sample will be sent to LabCorp to run the test, and I should expect results in 5-7 business days. “Maybe sooner.”

That kind of turnaround time makes contact tracing virtually impossible.

Covering a house committee hearing today in which I feel like I could have been called as a witness: Park Police vs. Protestors in Lafayette Park on June 1st. Follow along here: c-span.org/video/?473458-… First witness is Kishon McDonald, who works as a mechanic for United Airlines, and served in the Navy. He came to the park to join the peaceful protest. He says he had CS gas training in the Navy. On June 1st he was "attacked with tear gas and flash-bangs."

Good evening from Lincoln Park, on East Capitol St. in DC. Tonight a group of protestors led by @freedomneighbor are holding a rally calling for the removal of the Emancipation Memorial “by any means necessary.” The memorial was paid for by freed men and women, but designed by a white artist. It’s depiction of a kneeling Black man beside Lincoln has always been... problematic at best. It’s installation was attended by President Grant, and Frederick Douglass spoke. google.com/amp/s/www.wash…

Back outside the White House. Today the perimeter has been pushed back another half block. Federal law enforcement of some kind, but they won’t identify themselves, and all insignias and name plates have been removed. The Twitter hive mind has run pictures of the various insignias and flags and folks seem to think these are probably a Bureau of Prisons SORT (special operations) team, maybe from Texas. special-ops.org/federal-bop-sp…