Today, Trump wasted no time moving against the special counsel investigation, forcing out the Attorney General and replacing him with an outspoken opponent of the investigation.
Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden:
“President Trump forcing Attorney General Jeff Sessions out and replacing him with an avowed partisan opponent of the special counsel investigation is a brazen attack on the rule of law and requires immediate action to ensure the integrity of the investigation. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker cannot be trusted to oversee this investigation. He should immediately issue a public order that guarantees complete and total independence to the special counsel, an action with precedent during Watergate.
“The new House majority should make clear that the era of unchecked corruption in the Trump administration will soon end, and that any Justice Department or White House official involved in criminal cover-ups will be facing accountability in hearings beginning in January.”
WHAT DEMOCRATS WON.
As you can tell from President Trump’s hissy fit this afternoon, Democrats made significant gains in yesterday’s midterm elections.
Here are just a few key victories:
Women won last night.
- Both Massachusetts and Connecticut elected their respective states’ first black female representatives.
Congress
- Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, ending the era of total Republican control and unchecked corruption—not a moment too soon.
- Nearly 30 House seats flipped from Republican to Democratic control (and more are expected to flip).
Governorships/State Legislatures
- 7 governorships flipped from red to blue.
- Democrats took control of 7 state legislative chambers.
Ballot Initiatives
- 3 red states voted to expand Medicaid, bringing health care access to an additional 300,000 Americans.
- In a major victory, Florida’s Amendment 4 passed last night. It will restore voting rights to people with prior felony convictions.
- In Massachusetts, voters upheld nondiscrimination protections for transgender people in public spaces.
- 2 states voted to raise the minimum wage (AR, MO).
- Ballot measures passed in ME, MD, MT, NJ, NM, GA, and RI will culminate in nearly $900 million in education funding.
- Multiple states passed anti-corruption measures around lobbying, ethics, and campaign finance.
The Sessions firing debacle is yet another desperate attempt by Trump to distract from his party’s losses.
For once, though, the new House means Congress won’t be just looking the other way.
