National

Data: FEC; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The battle for control of the U.S. Senate has triggered unprecedented fundraising at the congressional level, with one Democratic candidate out-raising Al Gore in his presidential race just 20 years ago.

By the numbers: The top 10 Senate fundraisers in 2020 brought in more than double the money raised by the top 10 campaigns in 2018, raking in over $1 billion collectively, according to data filed with the Federal Election Commission by Dec. 24.

In Georgia, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, have collectively raised $446.7 million this election cycle. 

That exceeds the 2018 total brought in by the top nine Senate candidates.

Ossoff and Warnock smashed fundraising records in the last reporting period, each receiving over $100 million in two months. The $140 million total raised by Ossoff this cycle exceeds Gore's tally from 2000.

This year's fundraising has been propelled by the closeness of the results on Election Day in November. If Democrats can win both runoffs Tuesday, they can gain a 50-50 split in the Senate and a future Vice President Kamala Harris will cast tie-breaking votes in their favor.

The big picture: In the 2000 presidential race, Gore raised $133 million himself; adjusted for inflation, that would equal $201 million today. 

The overall total raised by Gore and George W. Bush would equate to $494 million in today's dollars, or less than half of the 2020 Senate totals.

The bottom line: While money matters, especially in races as close as the Georgia runoffs, remember that Jaime Harrison, Amy McGrath and Sara Gideon were some of 2020's biggest fundraisers. 

The three Democrats soundly lost in their bids to unseat Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins, respectively. 

2020 Senate fights spark breathtaking fundraising totals

The Georgia Senate candidates have raised nearly $500 million.

Politics

2020 elections

2020 election

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

President Trump’s caught-on-tape effort to bully the Georgia secretary of state shows that the powers Trump used to cajole his way to the top of business — and into the presidency — are now failing him in his White House final days.

Why it matters: “The clock is ticking," a longtime friend and Trump adviser told me. "The only thing that has made it sound more desperate is he knows that come Wednesday, it’s game over. The closer he gets to [Congress accepting the Electoral College vote], the more desperate he's getting.”

The one-hour conversation, obtained and released today by the Washington Post, captures Trump floundering with one of his go-to moves: 

He likes to try to create intimacy with a negotiation target — a "just-you-and-me" posture.

In this case, Trump was trying to get the secretary of state — Brad Raffensperger, a Republican — to change the outcome of the presidential race. 

Even with that change, for which there's no justification, Joe Biden would still be president-elect: Georgia's electoral votes aren't enough for Trump to win.

The longtime friend and adviser told me: "If you listen to the tape, it's all the same things he does whenever he's trying to get something in the bloodstream but can't attribute it to anybody."

Anyone who was surprised by the rambling, Nixonian tape wasn’t listening in August when the president spoke to Axios’ Jonathan Swan.

The president telegraphed the mayhem that was to follow his Election Day loss, claiming mail-in ballots would lead to voter fraud and laying the seeds for a period that has become the most tumultuous of his already topsy-turvy presidency.

During his interview with Swan, the president warned "lots of things can happen" with voting by mail if the presidential race isn't decided on election night — which ended up happening.

Be smart: The fact that someone taped a conversation between a secretary of state and the president of the United States, both from the same political party, speaks to the mistrust and legal fears that have followed Trump’s frantic efforts to overturn the results.

After Trump tweeted that the secretary of state “was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions,” Raffensperger delivered his own brushback pitch. He replied: “President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out.”

An hour later, the Post released its story, as well as audio of the call.

Trump's powers backfire

Anyone who was surprised by the rambling, Nixonian tape wasn’t listening in August.

Illustration of Trump with flashlights pointing at him from two directions

Donald Trump

House Democrats plan to reintroduce nine of their most-favored bills during the 117th Congress that began today, but how far the legislation gets will hinge on the outcome of the Georgia Senate races later this week.

Why it matters: Today was filled with pomp and circumstance, including Nancy Pelosi winning another term as House speaker after some recently COVID-positive members came into the chamber to vote in her favor. But whether Republicans maintain the Senate or Democrats win a narrow majority will determine if she and President-elect Joe Biden can enact their agendas.

What we're hearing: House Democrats soon plan to reintroduce nine key bills that died on the Hill under the Trump administration — H.R. 1 through H.R. 9, Democratic leadership sources tell me.

One of the first will be the For the People Act (H.R. 1) — a sweeping anti-corruption package that was a hallmark of the 2018 midterms. 

They also hope to tackle the next eight bills, including legislation that would expand the Affordable Care Act, lower the cost of prescription drug prices, enhance background checks on firearms, and passing the Equality Act.

In the Senate, if Republicans keep their majority, they're ready to flex their oversight powers. They plan to grill Biden's pending Cabinet nominees and their agencies — something many GOP lawmakers consider payback after a grueling four years scrutinizing Trump.

"Personnel is policy," a Senate leadership aide tells me. "These nominations are not gonna be boring, and when they come up for their semi-annual hearings, it's not gonna be fun." 

The aide added that they expect House Democrats will continue sending bills to the Senate that Republicans consider "explicit nonstarters," noting the Hyde abortion amendment as a key example.

Another priority for House Democrats is drafting a new coronavirus relief package to address what they see as the shortfalls in the recently passed stimulus bill. Their biggest priority is increased aid for state and local governments.

They also plan to work closely with Biden on a bipartisan infrastructure deal. As Axios recently reported, the president-elect views it as one of the few big pieces of legislation he can realistically achieve within a divided government. His team hopes to strike a deal during the first year of his term.

Each of these targets has been discussed during weekly policy coordination calls between the Biden transition and top House and Senate offices, congressional sources involved in the talks tell me.

What to expect from the new Congress

How far the legislation gets will hinge on the outcome of the Georgia Senate races.

Nancy Pelosi holds up a gavel while standing in front of an American flag

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wields the Speaker's gavel on Jan. 3. Photo: Erin Scott/pool/AFP via Getty Images

Congress

Policymaking

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was reelected as Speaker of the House at the start of the new session of Congress on Sunday. 

Why it matters: Pelosi had little wiggle room to lose votes from members of her party, as absences from the coronavirus pandemic complicated the matter. She needed the majority of votes from lawmakers present in the chamber.

In a Dear Colleague letter to her fellow Democrats before the vote Sunday, Pelosi wrote that she was "confident that the Speaker’s election today will show a united Democratic Caucus ..."

Pelosi, 80, was the House Speaker between 2007 and 2011, when Democrats had the majority in the House, and again since 2019. She has served in Congress since 1987 and has lead Democrat in the House since 2003.

She is the first and only woman to serve as Speaker.

Flashback: Pelosi faced the greatest challenge to her speakership in 2019, when 15 Democrats — all centrists — opposed her ascendancy to the role after eight years in the minority.

Nancy Pelosi narrowly wins another term as Speaker of the House

Pelosi had little wiggle room to lose votes from members of her party.

Nancy Pelosi

President Trump on Saturday tried to convince Georgia's Republican Secretary of State to "find 11,780 votes" — enough to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state — in an hourlong phone call obtained by the Washington Post.

Why it matters: Trump's personal appeal to Brad Raffensperger, which included suggesting that the secretary of state could face legal trouble if he did not take action on Trump's grievances, comes as several Senate Republicans plan to object to certifying election results in a last-ditch effort to support the president's unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. 

The state of play: Before the Post published the audio, Trump tweeted that he spoke with Raffensperger on Saturday. The president accused Raffensperger of being "unwilling, or unable" to answer questions on the president's unsubstantiated claims.

Raffensperger responded: "Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out." 

What they're saying: Trump repeated baseless and debunked conspiracy theories about the election, to which Raffensperger responded, "Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong.”

Trump later during the exchange said: "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state."  Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes.

TRUMP:  "You know what they did and you're not reporting it. Thats a criminal, that's a criminal offense. And you can't let that happen. That's a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. "

TRUMP: "So tell me Brad, what are we going to do? We won the election, and it's not fair to take it away from us like this. And it's going to be very costly in many ways. And I think you have to say that you're going to reexamine it, and you can reexamine it, but reexamine it with people that want to find answers, not people who don't want to find answers." 

RAFFENSPERGER: "Mr. President, you have people that submit information, and we have our people that submit information, and then it comes before the court, and the court then has to make a determination. We have to stand by our numbers. We believe our numbers are right." 

TRUMP: "You should meet tomorrow. Because you have a big election coming up, and because of what you've done to the president ... a lot of people aren't going out to vote, and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative, because they hate what you did to the president ... you would be respected, really respected, if this thing could be straightened out before the election. You have a big election coming up on Tuesday."

WaPo: Trump urged Georgia's secretary of state to "find" votes to overturn Biden win

"I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state."

President Trump walks to the Oval Office on Dec 31. Photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Here's the thinking of Republicans who plan to object Wednesday to certifying the Electoral College victory of President-elect Biden — a band that's up to a dozen senators and at least 140 House members, backed by Vice President Pence.

The big picture: They know there's no state where the results are in any kind of doubt, and they know their protests won't change the outcome.

The rebels are letting other Republicans (including Senate Majority Leader McConnell) take the heat, while they stoke the base. The objections let them court Trump as part of an effort to fend off primary challenges. 

Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, said in a statement that Pence "shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities."

The statement notably doesn't say that Pence, who'll be presiding, will object. Instead, it says he "welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections."

Sen. Ted Cruz greets a crowd yesterday before speaking at a rally for Sen. Kelly Loeffler in Cumming, Ga. Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP

After Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) went first, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is leading a group of 11 more senators as elector objectors.

The Cruz crew is calling for "an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states."

How it works: If both a representative and a senator object to an individual state's result, members of the House and Senate head to their separate chambers — for up to two hours — to debate and vote on whether to uphold the challenge.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called the protests "egregious": "The congressional power to reject electors is reserved for the most extreme and unusual circumstances. These are far from it."

Inside the GOP rebellion

The objections let them court Trump as part of an effort to fend off primary challenges.

Axios AM

America's 2020 fury is already scarring 2021.

Why it matters: Every day brings raw, even shocking new evidence that November's election, despite a clear result, did nothing to tame the turmoil in torn America.

Vandals sprayed political graffiti on the homes of the top two congressional leaders. 

New Hampshire canceled its Republican governor's public inauguration because of armed protesters in his backyard. 

Vice President Pence is now backing a growing movement among Republicans in Congress to stage a futile last-ditch protest of the certification of President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday. 

President Trump is eagerly promoting a loser's ball: His supporters are vowing to converge on D.C. from around the country on Wednesday, as Biden's win becomes official. "THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST EVENT IN WASHINGTON DC HISTORY," claims a video Trump retweeted overnight Saturday.

The attacks on the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Kentucky home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell constitute a stunning new transgression:

Garbage bags were taped to the garage door of Pelosi's home yesterday, covering up a "$2K" that had been spray-painted and crossed out, for $2,000 stimulus checks, NBC Bay Area reports. The graffiti, which took up the whole garage door, also said: "CANCeL ReNT!" and "We WANT eVeRYTHING!" In the driveway, there was fake blood and a pig's head in red.

In Louisville, spray paint on McConnell's door read, "WERES MY MONEY." "MITCH KILLS THE POOR" was scrawled over a window, AP reports. A profanity directed at McConnell was painted under the mailbox.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican elected to a third term in November, nailed it on CNN yesterday as he explained his decision to cancel his outdoor inauguration ceremony because of "ongoing public safety concerns."

Sununu called it an "accumulation, I think, of what we're seeing across the whole country. ... There's this whole new boundary, there's a whole new goalpost of what people deem as acceptable when they are not happy."

Now Sununu will hold a virtual inauguration, attended by legislative leaders.

American fury invades 2021

The latest examples: Attacks on the homes of Pelosi and McConnell.

Graffiti on the Louisville front door of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Photo: Timothy D. Easley/AP

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

It took a pandemic to drag the car-buying process into the 21st century — and consumers are never going back.

Why it matters: After COVID-19, consumers can now buy cars online as they do almost everything else, with the ability to complete the entire transaction digitally and take delivery without ever setting foot in a showroom.

The big picture: While most other commercial transactions — even banking — went digital years ago, car-buying remained a stubbornly low-tech, often aggravating, process.

But when the public health crisis paralyzed their industry, car dealers had little choice but to embrace the disruptive changes they'd been resisting for decades.

They scrambled to install new software that would let customers browse inventory, apply for credit and choose a payment schedule. 

And they offered virtual test drives to demonstrate in-car technology and arranged "touchless" vehicle pickup and delivery.

"Consumers really like it. Surveys show they want more of it, and dealers are getting on board that this is how it's going to be." 

Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive

The backstory: Technology entrepreneurs — and sometimes even carmakers themselves — have tried for years to modernize the car-buying process. 

In the early 2000s, Ford even tried (unsuccessfully) to buy and operate dealerships in competition with its independently franchised dealers, thinking it could run them better.

Since then, newcomers have tried various digital retailing efforts, but none with any great success. 

Car dealers, protected by state franchise laws, often were the biggest obstacles to change. 

Tesla's direct-to-consumer sales model, for example, met fierce resistance from dealers in many states, requiring lengthy court battles or negotiated settlements with state governments, though Tesla eventually won.

For the record: Some progressive dealers have been exploring online sales initiatives for several years. 

But many worried their profit margins would suffer if they weren't able to upsell buyers with extras like extended warranties or plush floor mats.

It turns out that dealers are more profitable than ever since shifting to online sales, Krebs noted.

"The deal happens faster because the consumer knows exactly what they want, and there's not a lot of haggling on the price," she said. 

Yes, but: Prices are high also because inventories are limited due to COVID-related factory shutdowns earlier in the year.

The state of play: Dealers are now touting their "omnichannel" tech strategy to provide consumers a seamless buying experience whether they shop online, in store or both.  

Nissan, for example, just launched a new online shopping platform called Nissan@home that lets prospective buyers schedule a test drive, sign the paperwork and arrange delivery of their new vehicle from their computer or mobile device. 

Sonic Automotive, a large publicly traded dealer group, recently hired its first chief digital officer and vice president of e-commerce with the goal of doubling its annual revenue by 2025.  

The bottom line: A three- or four-hour showroom visit can be compressed into a 15-minute online purchase. 

Car buying has changed forever

After COVID-19, consumers can now buy cars online as they do almost everything else.

Illustration of a cursor holding a set of car keys

Transportation

Automobiles

Business

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Israel has administered more COVID-19 vaccinations than any other nation, with over 1 million people receiving jabs — a rate of 12.59 doses per 100 people, new data from an Oxford University-run tracking site shows.

Why it matters: As countries like the U.S. fall behind on immunization goals, Israel has given coronavirus doses to over 10% of its population of 9.2 million since it began administering Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine on Dec. 19.

A screenshot of Our World in Data's COVID-19 statistics

The big picture: Israel is on its third national lockdown, with over 3,300 deaths from COVID-19 and 435,000 cases. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country "could emerge from the pandemic as early as February" as it delivers doses to some 150,000 people per day, the BBC notes.

Israel has also struck deals with Moderna and other coronavirus vaccine producers. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip aren't covered by the rollout, which the Palestinian Authority hasn't officially requested, The Guardian reports. 

Israeli officials have indicated they may give Palestinians surplus vaccines, and the COVAX initiative plans to distribute doses to the territories. 

For the record: The U.S. has administered 4.23 million doses, a rate of 1.28 per 100 people as of Saturday, per the figures from the Oxford-run Our World in Data, which measures single doses of the vaccine that usually requires two jabs.

President-elect Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration last week for "falling behind" on its goal of 20 million Americans receiving the coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020. Trump blamed states for distribution delays.

NIAID director Anthony Fauci expects to see an increase in vaccine momentum in the U.S. this month that should enable health officials to catch up to the projected pace.

Israel leads world in coronavirus vaccinations: Over 1M receive doses

Israel has given the vaccine to over 10% of the population since Dec. 19.

 An Ultra-orthodox Jewish man gets vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Kupat Holim Meuhedet clinic in Jerusalem on December 21

A COVID-19 vaccination at the Kupat Holim Meuhedet clinic in Jerusalem. Photo: Menahem Kahanna/AFP via Getty Images

World

COVID-19 vaccines

Science

Health Care

Israel

Coronavirus

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

New Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi declared a "fiscal emergency" and ordered the island's Department of Justice to step up anti-corruption efforts Saturday — hours after being sworn in, per Bloomberg.

Why it matters: Puerto Rico has experienced a tumultuous period politically and economically, with three governors in four years and a billion-dollar public debt.

The pandemic has badly affected the island, which is still recovering from catastrophic Hurricane Maria and last year's earthquakes. 

Political analyst Mario Negrón told AP, "The economy is in critical condition, and even though federal funds are on their way, people forget that the debt will have to be paid starting in February."

The big picture: Pierluisi signed six executive orders Saturday night — including the fiscal measure instructing government agencies to reduce costs, such as imposing travel limits, and for the local DOJ to liaise closely with federal prosecutors in corruption cases.

The 61-year-old leader of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party also ordered the Caribbean island's health department to "design a robust" plan for coronavirus testing, according to Bloomberg.

What he's saying: In a bilingual speech after being sworn in earlier Saturday, Pierluisi vowed to "turn the page on political turbulence," fight corruption, "work hard on what unites us," and achieve prosperity through statehood.

He called on "everyone to battle our common enemies: the pandemic, poverty and crime, lack of access to good education and health care, economic stagnation, corruption and inequality."

Doing this while jump-starting the economy, attracting investment and growing the tourism industry would "put Puerto Rico on a path to recovery and progress," Pierluisi said.

Of note: Pierluisi briefly served as governor after former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resigned in 2019 amid massive protests after the U.S. territory's House of Representatives found five impeachable offenses against him.

The new governor previously caucused with the Democrats as the island's congressional representative for eight years.

Go deeper: Why Puerto Rico is still struggling to get online

Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the executive orders.

New Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi declares "fiscal emergency"

The U.S. territory has had 3 governors in 4 years.

Puerto Rico's new governor Pedro Pierluisi holds press conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 06

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