Dec 17, 2017

White House aide: There's no discussion of firing Mueller

Erica Pandey, author of @Work

The special counsel. Photo: Cliff Owen / AP

White House Legislative Director Marc Short told NBC's Chuck Todd "there's no discussion ... whatsoever" at the White House about firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller, despite claims from officials of President Trump's transition team that Mueller obtained "many tens of thousands" of emails unlawfully.

"Thankfully, I'm not in communication with the transition lawyer for the Trump team. The reality is that this administration has complied in every single possible way with the special counsel. Tax payers have spent millions and millions of dollars on this investigation that has not yet proven any sense of collusion with the Russians."

More on Mueller:

Sen. Joe Manchin told Todd, "I do not at all believe that Mr. Mueller has been compromised or his investigation. … He is the person, the right person, that when he finishes his investigation that we're going to have confidence it was done in a fair and balanced way."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on CNN's State of the Union that he "has no reason to believe" that Trump will fire Mueller and that he believes the probe is a "giant distraction."

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Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7:30 p.m. ET: 18,982,658 — Total deaths: 712,266— Total recoveries — 11,477,642 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7:30 p.m. ET: 4,873,747 — Total deaths: 159,931 — Total recoveries: 1,598,624 — Total tests: 59,652,675 — Map.
Politics: Pelosi rips GOP over stimulus negotiations: "Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn" — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive.
Public health: Majority of Americans say states reopened too quickly — Fauci says task force will examine aerosolized spread.
Business: The health care sector imploded in Q2 — More farmers are declaring bankruptcy — July's jobs report could be an inflection point for the recovery.
Sports: Where college football's biggest conferences stand on playing.

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2 hours ago - World

Nuclear free-for-all: The arms control era may be ending

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki have remained unreplicated for 75 years in part because the U.S. and Soviet Union — after peering over the ledge into nuclear armageddon — began to negotiate.

Why it matters: The arms control era that began after the Cuban Missile Crisis may now be coming to a close. The next phase could be a nuclear free-for-all.

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4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi, Schumer demand postmaster general reverse USPS cuts ahead of election

Schumer and Pelosi. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday calling for the recent Trump appointee to reverse operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service that "threaten the timely delivery of mail" ahead of the 2020 election.

Why it matters: U.S. mail and election infrastructure are facing a test like no other this November, with a record-breaking number of mail-in ballots expected as Americans attempt to vote in the midst of a pandemic.

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