Axios

Top Trump loyalists are trying to cling to power by firing critics, rehiring other loyalists, instructing federal government employees that the election isn't over yet, and threatening appointees that their future work prospects could get crushed if they try to abandon ship now.

Driving the news: In leaked audio of a Monday conference call with USAID staff, obtained by Axios, the agency's top-ranking official John Barsa told staff to "play until the whistle blows" and that "DC, at the end of the day, is a really small town" — which participants read as a threat to anyone who starts job hunting.

Fox News cut away from a Trump campaign press conference by White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday after she baselessly accused Democrats of "welcoming fraud" and "welcoming illegal voting" in the 2020 election.

Why it matters: The Trump campaign is pursuing a likely doomed legal fight to contest the results of the 2020 election based on the president's unfounded claims that widespread voter fraud and mail-in ballots stole the election from him.

Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler (R) on Monday called on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, to resign over what they said was his failure to deliver "honest and transparent elections."

Why it matters: Raffensperger, who dismissed the senators' demand, and Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) have said there is no credible evidence of systemic voter fraud in the state. President Trump has made baseless and unfounded claims that Democrats stole this year's election from him through widespread voter fraud and mail-in ballots.

David Bossie, one of President Trump's outside advisers, has tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the president's election night party last week, sources familiar with the situation tell Axios.

Why it matters: Bossie is helping the Trump campaign lead a barrage of lawsuits to contest the outcome of the 2020 election, as the president continues to spread unsubstantiated allegations that widespread voter fraud and mail-in ballot irregularities stole the election from him.

Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) is running for chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), as Democrats look for new leadership after failing to expand their House majority in last week's election, according to a source familiar.

Why it matters: Cardenas' consideration for this leadership post reflects a recognition among Democrats that they need to shore up their support with Hispanic voters and better understand the nuances of the Latino community to improve their electoral prospects.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) celebrated Republicans' congressional victories and defended President Trump's refusal to concede to Joe Biden, saying on the Senate floor Monday that Trump has "every right to look into allegations and request recounts."

The state of play: As of Monday afternoon, only four Republican senators — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Susan Collins (Maine) and Ben Sasse (Neb.) — had congratulated Biden on his projected victory.

Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will replace Mark Esper as acting secretary of Defense, President Trump tweeted on Monday.

Why it matters: Trump has clashed with Esper over a number of issues since the summer, and he was expected to be one of the first Cabinet secretaries to be removed after the election.

Joe Biden has been elected the 46th president of the U.S., ousting President Trump after a single term, the Associated Press projected on Saturday.

What they're saying: "I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris," Biden said in a statement. "With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. It’s time for America to unite. And to heal."

President Trump has already told advisers he's thinking about running for president again in 2024, two sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios.

Why it matters: This is the clearest indication yet that Trump understands he has lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden — even as the president continues to falsely insist that he is the true winner, that there has been election fraud and that his team will fight to the end in the courts.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson tested positive for COVID-19, ABC News first reported on Monday.

Why it matters: Carson is the latest in a string of White House officials to contract the virus — days after Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also tested positive. Like Meadows, Carson attended the White House’s largely mask-free election night party last week alongside a group of other top officials in President Trump's Cabinet.

Georgia's Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) told CNN on Monday that no "credible incidents" of systemic fraud or voter disenfranchisement had been reported to his office by the state's attorney general or secretary of state.

Why it matters: Duncan's assessment contradicts President Trump's baseless and unfounded claims that Democrats stole the 2020 election from him through widespread voter fraud and mail-in ballots. The Trump campaign is pursuing a likely doomed legal fight anyway.

Parler, which calls itself a "viewpoint-neutral" social network and is growing popular among conservatives who feel mainstream social platforms are censoring them, is now topping the free app download charts, according to both Apple and Sensor Tower.

Why it matters: With Twitter and other mainstream social media apps more strictly enforcing rules against election-related falsehoods, more permissive, often right-leaning platforms have seen a surge of interest.

Joe Biden's first remarks as president-elect Saturday claimed a mandate to act on climate. But making good will require tough lawyers, creativity, luck and persuasion.

The big picture: His new transition website puts climate among the four top priorities alongside COVID-19, the economy and racial justice.

GOP leaders and confidants of President Trump tell Axios his legal fight to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory — which they admit is likely doomed — could last a month or more, possibly pushing the 2020 political wars toward Christmastime.

Why it matters: Most top Republicans have followed Trump’s orders not to accept the Biden victory, and to allow all legal options to be exhausted. That could mean weeks of drama — and, more importantly, distractions from the vital work of transitioning government for a change of power.

Four years later, it’s still easy to hate on the polls. Even if they called the presidential race "right" this time, the national polls vastly underestimated support for President Trump once again, leading to a major industry soul searching about how to fix some fundamental problems.

Why it matters: Without data to provide a beacon for elections, there isn’t much else to go on.

Big tech has been the biggest corporate winner of the Trump presidency, according to an Axios analysis of public-company corporate financials.

Why it matters: The tech giants have spent the past four years facing increased scrutiny from Washington, and Google has even been hit by an antitrust lawsuit. But Google parent Alphabet has seen its profits soar by $12 billion per year since Trump's surprise election in November 2016.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday over the future of the Affordable Care Act — the third time in eight years the ACA has been on the brink of life or death at the high court.

The big picture: For now, the smart money says that the court is likely to strike down what remains of the law’s individual mandate, but is unlikely to go along with the argument — advanced by both red states and the Trump administration — that the whole law has to fall along with it.

President-elect Joe Biden declared tackling the pandemic "one of the most important battles our administration will face" as he announced a new 12-member Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board on Monday.

Why it matters: The U.S. has reported over 100,000 new coronavirus cases every day since last Wednesday, when it first reached the milestone. The seven-day average of deaths from the virus reported by states has risen 36% in the past three weeks, per the COVID Tracking Project.

The leaders of America's closest allies aren't waiting for President Trump to concede. They're already offering their congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Why it matters: The world is now preparing for a very different American administration.

Republican Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt has revealed staff in his office that runs the election vote count have been receiving death threats since last week.

Details: "From the inside looking out, it feels all very deranged," Schmidt told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview broadcast Sunday.

On the next episode of "Axios on HBO," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) tells Axios national political correspondent Jonathan Swan that the House Democratic caucus has “trust to build” after losing seats in the election.

Catch the full interview and much more on Monday, Nov. 9 at 11pm ET/PT on all HBO platforms.

After Joe Biden whiffed with Hispanic voters in some states, Democrats are urging the president-elect to nominate several Latinos to high-profile Cabinet positions.

Among those in contention: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for Homeland Security, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for Health and Human Services, and Rep. Filemon Vela for Commerce or Transportation.