The Texas Supreme Court on Saturday denied a petition brought forth by Republicans to toss out 127,000 ballots cast in drive-thru lanes in Harris County, the Lone Star State's most populous county and home to Houston, The Austin-American Statesman reports. The opinion, which is viewed as a victory for Democrats, was made without comment.
The plaintiffs — including conservative activist Steven Hotze, state Rep. Steve Toth (R), congressional candidate Wendell Champion, and judicial candidate Sharon Hemphill — have argued drive-thru voting sites are an illegal expansion of curbside voting that violates Texas election law and the U.S. Constitution. The state's high court didn't agree, but there is an emergency hearing at the federal court level scheduled for Monday, so the votes remain in jeopardy. Still, Harris County attorneys reportedly believe that the Texas decision will prompt the district judge to rule similarly. Tim O'Donnell
One of Harris County’s attorneys told me now they can go before federal judge and argue: If Texas Supreme Court says this follows Texas law, who are you to say otherwise?
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) November 1, 2020
President Trump's first term in office saw a lot of Cabinet turnover, and Politico reports that would likely continue if he wins re-election. Health and national security agencies could be part of a potential overhaul, with Politico circling Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper as a few of the officials who could be on the way out. All have had their differences with Trump during their tenures.
"I can only imagine the score-settling Trump would undertake if he won," one Republican close to the White House told Politico.
In a scenario in which Trump secures a second term, critics are anticipating a "vindicated and liberated" president who "will stack his Cabinet even more with loyalists," but other sources said Trump is purely focused on winning the election. "Trump is focused on the next week of winning, and it would be foolish for anyone to say to him right now, 'In the second term, I want to do this, I want to do that,'" another Republican close to the White House said. If anyone did suggest that, the source added, "you would get your head bashed in."
Besides, a former senior administration official said Trump, as he's been known to do, has plenty of time to change his mind before January. Read more at Politico. Tim O'Donnell
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, disclosed his campaign's top donors Saturday evening, but the announcement didn't satisfy everyone, even among his supporters.
This is the first time Biden made the list public since he won the Democratic nomination. Biden, who has reeled in $383 million throughout his run, named 817 "bundlers" who raised at least $100,000 for the candidate through their personal networks, often giving their own maximum donation, as well. Per Politico, the list contains several top Democratic politicians and officials, Wall Street executives, Silicon Valley tycoons, and Hollywood celebrities.
Vox notes campaign-finance reform advocates had grown concerned that Biden had kept the information under wraps up to this point, especially since 90 million people have already voted. Previously, Democratic candidates have regularly disclosed their bundlers in the name of transparency. "Congratulations on clearing an artificially low bar they set for themselves that defeats the entire purpose of transparency — allowing voters to know who is funding the campaigns asking for their support before casting their ballots," said Tyson Brody, a Democratic operative who worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Brody is backing Biden in the election, per Vox, but is critical of the influence large campaign donors can have on elections.
While the campaign's decision to release names late in the game means many voters submitted their ballots with incomplete information, Vox notes that it isn't surprising. One of Biden's central messages is his ability to relate to the working and middle classes, which led to a focus on small, grassroots donations. Big name contributors, on the other hand, could have undercut the campaign's strategy. Read more at Vox and Politico. Tim O'Donnell
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious disease expert and White House Coronavirus Task Force member, criticized the Trump administration's recent handling of the pandemic in an interview with The Washington Post published Saturday evening, and the White House was less than thrilled.
Fauci said the U.S. "could not be positioned more poorly" heading into the fall and winter, adding that the task force meets less frequently and he and Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force's coordinator, no longer have regular access to the president. Meanwhile, he said, Trump is more focused on re-opening the economy while "the public health aspect of the task force has diminished greatly." Fauci admitted he has "real problems" with Trump's now-favored pandemic adviser, neuroradiologist Scott Atlas, whom he described as a "smart guy who's talking about things that I believe he doesn't have any real insight or knowledge or experience in."
On the other hand, Fauci said Trump's Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his campaign are taking the virus "seriously from a public health perspective."
In response, the White House called Fauci's comments "unacceptable," taking particular issue with the fact that they were made shortly before Tuesday's Election Day. White House spokesman Judd Deere said Fauci "has a duty to express concerns or push for a change in strategy, but he's not done that, instead choosing to criticize the president in the media and make his political leanings known by praising the president's opponent — exactly what the American people have come to expect from The Swamp." Read more at The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell