The Fiddler's Exit

Transition, Transition! If this had been an ordinary election cycle no one outside of Michigan, and even most Michiganders, would have ever heard Aaron Van Langevelde’s name;  however this is 2020 so Langevelde goes down on that very short list of Republican officials who despite the pressure and threats thrown his way did his job.  Yesterday, while saying that he really had no choice but to follow the law, a clearly stressed out Langevelde joined the two Democrats on the Michigan Board of Canvassers, and voted to certify the state’s election results.  The other Republican on the board, Norm Shinkle, who was one of two local Republicans who visited Trump last Friday, ultimately abstained, but not before making it clear that he had heard zillions of accounts of election fraud especially in that minority dominated Wayne County. He’ll probably get a bill for all that gratis Dom Perignon he imbibed during his DC visit, assuming it was really the expensive stuff and maybe even if it was just Trump branded ersatz bubbly.  Shortly after the Michigan certification vote, @GSAEmily, another person whose name we wouldn’t have gotten to know during normal times, issued the much awaited ascertainment letter authorizing the transition to the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration.  Though she a bit too conveniently or more likely snidely left Kamala’s name out of her letter, she did manage to whine about how unfair it was that she had been subjected to so much pressure and so many threats, asserting that her failure to issue the letter earlier was just her doing her job the way she thought she was supposed to do it, that it had nothing to do with any pressure from anyone of her superiors or anyone named Trump, that going forward the responsibility for initiating transitions should be taken out of the hands of the GSA and that her decision to finally issue the letter was all her own.  Full disclosure, I was one of the many people who sent her an email, an excruciatingly polite benign one with no threats or at least that’s how I saw it.  Of course, Trump followed up immediately, contradicting her by tweeting that he had “instructed” her to issue it “in the best interests of the country,” even though he plans to fight on because “our case STRONGLY continues we will keep up the good fight and I believe we’ll prevail.”  Trump whisperer/NY Times writer Maggie Haberman says that tweet is probably the closest Trump will ever get to delivering a concession letter.  Though Trump will not be heading to Mar a Lago for Thanksgiving and is still pursuing legal challenges, he has added a wacky conspiracy mongering OAN correspondent/lawyer to his legal team to replace the fully deranged Sidney Powell, he’s also making plans for his move south. Yesterday it was reported that he’s updating and expanding his Mar a Lago living quarters, that the Secret Service has started asking agents if they have any interest in moving to Palm Beach and that plans are being made to reopen the streets around New York’s Trump Tower. By the way, Pennsylvania still hasn’t certified but their delay appears to be due to the ordinary incompetence that we usually don’t even hear about.         

Master of the House: Even before the Michigan certification, the number of Republican politicians acknowledging Biden’s “likely” victory and calling for @GSA Emily to do her job had grown to include Republican Senators Lamar Alexander, Shelly Moore Capito and Rob Portman.  It wasn’t just the political types, early in the day loyal Trump supporter Steve Schwarzman of Blackrock who had previously said that he didn’t get why all those “blue” absentee ballots should be counted, acknowledged Trump’s loss and Biden’s victory as did more than 150 business leaders who called for Trump to concede and initiate a smooth transition.  Additionally GM management abandoned a Trump lawsuit against the State of California and its emission control standards, saying it was now all in on electric vehicles. For his part, as frustrated as he was by Trump’s obstruction, Biden continued to do what President-elects are supposed to do, he spent the day announcing more of his cabinet appointments, a diverse list that includes Alejandro Mayorkas, a son of Jewish Cuban refugees to head the Department of Homeland Security, Avril Haines who will be the first woman to become the Director or National Intelligence, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who he described as a “barrier breaking African American.” Significantly, he also announced the appointment of former Secretary of State John Kerry/Paris Climate agreement negotiator as climate czar, a new cabinet level position that will get a seat at the National Security Council. How refreshing and crucial, a President who believes in science.  And though it hasn’t been formally announced yet, expectations are that former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will be the first female Treasury Secretary. With the transition letter in hand, the FBI can now start the process of vetting those nominees as well as a raft of other future Biden team members.  Most importantly, the ascertainment letter should also facilitate the sharing of information about the upcoming vaccination plan. I fully expect that there will be bumps and potholes in the vaccination road but I do feel a whole lot more comfortable knowing that the Biden team, rather than Jared Kushner or some other family member will be getting a seat at the table and by January will be running the massive undertaking.   

57 Days:  Even though the ascertainment letter has been issued, the transition has begun and construction of the inauguration platform is underway, Trump is still the showrunner.  The super spreader in chief plans to hold a few indoor holiday parties while he still can.  Of more concern, he also remains in charge of international and domestic policy, so hold on, undoubtably there will be more fiddling and, to borrow a phrase from Molly Jong Fast, f-ckery before we get to January 20.